Weight, not box size, to decide the price of Himachal apples, fruits

Himachal government’s Agricultural Marketing Board issued a circular directing the sale of apples and similar fruits to be based on the weight of the produce at all markets. The board had taken a decision in this regard on April 4 and the circular affecting it was issued late on Thursday evening.

According to the circular, sellers will bring apples and similar fruits to be packed in universal cartons, telescopic cartons, and crates. However, the weight in each box should not exceed 24 kg in any case.

Earlier, there was a tendency among both growers and sellers to package more than the prescribed layers of the apple to increase the weight of the box. The same was highly unfavourable to the growers.

The seller shall now have to indicate the proper weight of the produce on the carton/box with a permanent marker. The government has made it mandatory to weigh the sample box(s) in each market yard/auction floor. The commission agents will be responsible for arranging a weighing machine for this purpose.

The weighing instruments and such weights and measures must satisfy the requirements as prescribed under the Himachal Pradesh Weights and Measures Act, 1968, or any other law for the time being in force, shall be used for weighing or measuring agricultural produce in a notified market area, the circular further stated.

Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMC), meanwhile, have been given the responsibility to ensure an adequate number of weighing machines in their yards.

Redressal process also in place

In case of any dispute with regard to weight, a sub-committee consisting of seller, buyer, commission agent and APMC’s representative, shall weigh the sample(s) on APMC’s weighing machine and the weight hence calculated shall be considered final and conclusive.

New licences, renewal of licences, and allocation of space in the yard will be subject to the condition that trade will be undertaken only on a weight basis.

All market functionaries, traders, sellers, buyers and commission agents registered under the Himachal Pradesh Agricultural and Horticultural Produce Marketing (Development and Regulation) Act, 2005, have been directed to follow seven-point norms as described in the circular.

The move also comes in the backdrop of farmers having pursued the government to replace the existing telescopic cartons with universal cartons.

Notably, the state government had planned to introduce universal cartons for apples last year to check overpackaging after failing to enforce uniform packaging standards. Congress had in its manifesto for the 2020 state elections also assured the fruit growers of a mechanism where they shall be able to fix the price for the fruits and other produce.

Kisan Morcha welcomes move

Welcoming the latest move, Progressive Growers Association (PGA) president Lokinder Singh Bisht said, “The fruit associations have guardedly welcomed the government’s first move. The state government within four months of coming into power has taken the policy decision to make the sale of apples and other fruits by weight, this step is welcomed by all fruit growers and we are thankful to the government.”

“However, we expect the government to keep up the momentum by implementing the Passenger and Goods Transport Act and the APMC Act to ensure that actual benefit of sale by weight is realised by the growers,” he was quick to add.

Convenor of the Sanyukt Kisan Manch Sanjay Chauhan, meanwhile, said the government must also fix the minimum support price (MSP) for apple and other crops, fix the prices for apple procured by CA stores of Adani and other corporate companies,

The Kisan Manch is a conglomerate of 34 different fruit and vegetable growers associations that had been at the forefront of the agitation against the exploitation of the state’s fruit growers

Apple growing regions, which comprise around 17 assembly segments in Kinnaur, Kullu, Mandi and Shimla, have played a significant role in drawing the political contours of Himachal Pradesh. Apple contributes to around 13.5% of the state’s gross domestic product in Himachal Pradesh, which boasts of a ₹6,000 crore economy.