An all-time high crop of cherries in Himachal Pradesh has sent the prices of the fruit plummeting this year and leaving farmers sulking.
A 1 kg box is fetching around Rs 70 to Rs 120 in the Delhi market, while it is hovering between Rs 40 and Rs 80 in the Shimla market, say farmers.
Last year, prices were two to three times higher. “This year the production is likely to touch a record 1,000 tonnes,” said state horticulture department director Gurdev Singh.
Last time, it was 453 tonnes, while two years ago it touched 690 tonnes.The harvest takes place between mid-April to mid-June.
“The high quality cherry, which is barely 10 per cent of the entire production is fetching over Rs 200 per box in the Delhi market. But the remaining bulk is fetching low returns,” said a cherry farmer from Kotgarh Ranjeet Mehta.
“The prices have also fallen because the middlemen cite the excuse of short shelf life of the fruit,” Mehta said.
“Added to this are the delays in transportation to distant markets , which affect the freshness of the fruit,” he said. Cherry, a temperate fruit, is largely grown in the cool hills of Shimla and Kullu. The production has grown rapidly in the last decade or so.