Dharamsala, Dec 7 (IANS) Himachal Pradesh has a record yield of apples this season with over four crore boxes, of 20 kg each, sold in markets across the country, a minister said here Tuesday.
‘The total production of apples was 4.46 crore boxes and this was a record in itself,’ Horticulture Minister Narinder Bragta said in a written reply in the state assembly.
The previous record yield of 2.6 crore boxes was in 2007. Last year, it slipped to 1.4 crore boxes.
Bragta said the state government had earned a revenue of Rs.11.93 crore by charging a market fee of Rs.3.23 per box.
Under a market intervention scheme, the government procured apples worth Rs.58.32 crore directly from farmers.
Apple is the main fruit crop of the state and is grown in nine out of its 12 districts. Apple accounts for about 40 percent of the total area under all fruit crop cultivation.
Besides apple, other fruits like pear, peach, cherry, apricot, kiwi, strawberry, olive, almond and plum are the major commercial crops of the state.
