Shimla, August 25: Apple growers of Himachal Pradesh have supplied 7,500 tonnes of apples to Adani Agri Fresh Limited. Adani Agri Fresh Limited started procurement at their three facilities in Himachal Pradesh on August 15.

Himachal Pradesh is the country's largest apple producer with production of 8 to 10 lakh tonnes a year. The apple trade is dominated by local mandis and lately entry of organised players, equipped with modern storage facilities, has expanded the market for Himachali apples in India and overseas.

"We had procured 2,000 tonnes of apples within the first two days of the beginning of our procurement in mid-August and the supply is growing day-by-day despite challenges with transportation. Farmers are attracted to the organised players since we offer them fair terms of the trade with timely payment besides sorting apples in their presence," said an Adani Agri Fresh spokesperson.

He further said, "The rest of the year, we nurture our relationships with farmers by providing them fertilizers, pesticides, hail-nets and other agri inputs at low cost."

In local mandis of Himachal Pradesh apple procurement begins in June-end or early July, but the private players wait till mid or late August and have been offering better prices. AAFL this year started the procurement on 15th August by offering Rs 4 per kilogram more than the previous year. The high prices along with the bumper crop in the state across all varieties of apple have become additional reasons for farmers to choose private companies over mandis.

Adani Agri Fresh has set up three controlled atmosphere storage facilities in Rampur, Rohru and Sainj in Himachal Pradesh to store apples in large airtight refrigerated rooms with right temperature, oxygen and humidity. While it helps in keeping the apples fresh and consumable for a much longer time, it provides for its supply across domestic and international markets.

"We regularly conduct training programs in the villages so that farmers can get better yields and improved returns on their investment. We look forward to yet another successful procurement season and will continue to strengthen our contribution towards the betterment of the apple growers of Himachal Pradesh," added the spokesperson. Presently, AAFL procures apples from more than 15,000 farmers across the state and the numbers are growing every year.

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