Kashmiri apple growers send 6 lakh tons of apples outside

Srinagar: Despite the shutdown and killing of a non-local apple trader and a driver, apple farmers in Kashmir have managed to send six lakh metric tons of apples outside Kashmir. After halting for two days at Shopian, Mohammad Waris, a truck driver from Rajasthan has begun to load apples in his truck. “We come to Kashmir to earn our livelihood for years and we will continue to do that,” Mohammad Waris said. Kashmir produces 20 lakh metric tons of apples every year. The fruit is cultivated on more than 37 lakh hectares of land across Kashmir. Kashmir accounts for 75 per cent of the total apple production in India. The fruit earns Kashmir Rs 8,000 crore annually and provides livelihood to 33 lakh people including seven lakh farmers. The government had offered to buy the crop from the farmers due to the lockdown and shutdown after the revocation of Article 370. (IANS)

Also Read: Thrust On Rabi Crops: State Agriculture Minister Atul Bora

Also Watch: TADCDC demands reopening of Prasanna Turung & his wife Kamai Turung’s missing case