Kashmir Apple Industry Suffers Rs 200 Cr Blow as Floods Hit Harvest

SRINAGAR: Knee-deep water in orchards, ripe apples scattered across the ground, and fully grown trees uprooted marked the morning of September 4 for apple growers in south Kashmir. Days of relentless rain, water-logging and repeated highway closures have devastated the Valley’s horticulture sector just when the harvest had reached its peak.

What was being hailed as the best apple crop in decades is now turning into collective losses of up to Rs 200 crore. Growers across Pulwama and Kulgam report that nearly 70 percent of produce in some orchards has been destroyed, with uprooted trees adding to the long-term damage.

The closure of the Srinagar–Jammu national highway due to landslides has choked trade, leaving hundreds of fruit-laden trucks stranded. With apples required to reach markets within four to five days to preserve quality, prolonged delays have forced traders to unload rotting produce by the roadside.

Right now, the Mughal Road remains the only alternative, but its narrow stretch allows passage only for smaller vehicles, limiting the flow of supplies to markets outside the Valley.

The devastation is being compared to the 2014 floods, when apple orchards in Kashmir suffered losses of more than Rs 1,000 crore. This year’s setback comes after two seasons of low market rates caused by bumper harvests in Himachal Pradesh and the influx of imported apples into Indian markets. The destruction has left farmers warning of irreversible losses, both to their crops and to the Valley’s horticultural base, unless urgent transport and relief measures are introduced.

Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has appealed to the Union government to consider dedicated train services between the Valley and Delhi to facilitate fruit transport, as the road network remains disrupted.