Rain and hail has damaged Himachal Pradesh's bumper apple crop and scuppered hopes of exporting fruit from the region across Asia and to the Middle East this season.
Industry efforts to tap into markets in Bangladesh, Dubai, Malaysia and Sri Lanka have so far failed, Srinivas Ramanujam of Indian trading house Adani Group told The Indian Express, because of the fruit's poor quality and size.
Mr Ramanujam said he hoped India's apple export situation would improve as the season progressed, with better-quality fruit from Kashmir and Kinnaur coming on-line over the coming weeks.
Export prospects may brighten, but so far our efforts to explore markets in Bangladesh, Dubai, Malaysia and Sri Lanka have not been fruitful,' he said. 'With given quality and high transportation cost, the export price of the Himachal apple is not competitive as compared to Fiji (sic) and Washington varieties.'
Himachal apple growers are struggling to sell their product on the domestic market too, The Indian Express reported. Due to the poor crop quality, Himachal apple prices have hit rock bottom, leaving many growers unable to recover transport and packaging costs, it said.
The average cost of one (20kg) apple box has plummeted from Rs1,200-1,600 last year to Rs400-450, senior local marketing official Pratap Chauhan told the publication.
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