Apple prices tumble

Apple prices have slumped to a third of what they were a month ago in markets across India. Prices of a 22-kg apple box fetched all time high rates of Rs 1,200 and more in July but since then the drop in prices has been steady despite a low yield this year.

The prices over the weekend in Shimla and other state wholesale markets have varied between Rs 200 and Rs 550 per box for the past few days.

"Few buyers are arriving at the Delhi market. There are virtually no buyers from Gujarat and Rajasthan, said besides southern India where the monsoon has been wreaking havoc this year," said Lekh Raj Chauhan, president of the Himachal Apple Growers' Association.