Time to savour juicy Kinnaur apples

Himachal Pradesh's apple season may have begun nearly two months ago, but the really delicious ones, from the Kinnaur district, are headed for markets across the country only now. Kinnauri apples are known for their natural sweetness, color, and juiciness.

Every day, trucks carrying hundreds of apple cartons from the Chango, Ribba, and Namgiya valley of Kinnaur, 250 km from Shimla, are heading for Chandigarh, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Lucknow, giving tough competition to Kashmiri apples.

However, the apple crop from Lahaul and Spiti district is yet to reach the markets; only some early varieties are reaching the markets.

"We are hopeful of a bumper crop this year, but (it may be) slightly less than the previous year's record of two million cartons. So far, 200,000 cartons have been sent to various markets," said S.S. Mehta, the state horticulture department's deputy director who is based in Kinnaur.

"The total yield from Kinnaur district alone could be anything up to 1.6 million boxes," he said.

Retailers and streetside fruit vendors often sell apples from other parts of Himachal as the Kinnauri variety. But the reality is that Kinnaur apples start coming only in September-end.

 Subhash Negi, an apple farmer from Kinnaur, said the price of the Royal Delicious, Red Delicious, and Rich-a-Red varieties at the Chandigarh wholesale fruit market this week was Rs.3,000-Rs. 3,500 per box of 10 kg.

 Partap Singh Kairon, a fruit merchant at the Dhalli wholesale fruit market, about 10 km from here, said, "Apples from tribal districts are always in high demand and enjoy a virtual monopoly. With the arrival of the crop from areas located between 6,000 and 8,500 feet, the demand for apples from other areas has decreased."

Rajeev Bodh, an orchard owner from Hurling in the Spiti subdivision, said: "We are hopeful of getting a good return for our crop this year." He said the apple crop that would be ready by mid-October would continue till November end.