A prolonged winter and subsequent hail storms have drastically reduced India's Himachal Pradesh apple yields this season.
The 2011 crop is 70 per cent down on last year's bumper volumes, and there is very little fruit left to pick, reports news site www.dnaindia.com.
Total output is unlikely to exceed 1.4 crore (14m) cartons, compared to last season's 4.46 crore (44.6m) cartons, Himachal Pradesh horticulture director told the publication.
But the shortfall has been a blessing in disguise for some producers, who said apple prices have remained high in northern India as a result.
'Prices remained almost constant throughout the season – almost 35-45 per cent higher than last year,' one prominent grower said.
But one farmer told the site that producers stopped harvesting during Diwali because Himachali applepricesfell sharply after the arrival of New Zealand apples.
Apple picking in Himachal Pradesh – one of India's major apple-producing regions – will continue for at least another week, officials said.
