Srinagar, Nov 19: Kashmir’s horticulture sector has raised an urgent alarm after suffering losses estimated at nearly Rs 2,000 crore in the August 2025 natural disaster, calling it one of the biggest setbacks in the Valley’s recent economic history.
At an emergent meeting held at Fruit Mandi, Apple Town Sopore, the Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers Cum Dealers Union (KVFGDU) appealed to the Government of India and the J&K administration to immediately announce a comprehensive relief package.
The meeting, chaired by Union Chairman Bashir Ahmad Basheer, brought together representatives of fruit growers’ associations from across the Valley. Speakers unanimously described the crisis as the worst financial blow in decades, triggered by widespread floods and the prolonged closure of the Srinagar–Jammu National Highway at the peak of the apple harvest. Thousands of loaded trucks remained stranded for more than 20 days, causing fully ripened apples to rot inside vehicles and at mandies. Basheer said the disruptions crashed the market and sent prices spiralling downward at a time when growers were expecting their annual income. “Farmers who worked the entire year were forced to sell their produce at throwaway prices. Many have been pushed to the brink,” he said.
The Union expressed deep disappointment that no compensation or relief has been announced so far despite the scale of destruction. Members said the horticulture sector, which sustains lakhs of families, cannot absorb losses of this magnitude and urgently needs government intervention. They demanded a Rs 2,000 crore compensation package along with long-term safeguards such as a horticulture crop insurance scheme, revival of the Market Intervention Scheme, development of alternative transport routes, loan waivers for the worst-hit growers, interest exemption on bank loans and expansion of CA and cold storage facilities.
Growers also urged the administration to streamline pesticide and fertiliser availability, standardise packaging material, enforce quarantine norms for High Density plants and upgrade fruit mandis with necessary infrastructure so that farmers are protected from exploitation and future losses.
The Union warned that without timely intervention, many orchardists may fall into deep financial distress, threatening the stability of the Valley’s horticulture-driven economy. As Kashmir continues to recover from the August disaster, the region’s fruit growers now await a firm response from the government, insisting that the future of the Valley’s apple industry depends on immediate and decisive action.
