Apple prices in India have plummeted, as the market struggles to absorb an excessive volume of imported fruit, according to the Economic Times.
Rain and haildamage across the country’s key growing regions earlier this season has prompted a surge in apple imports over recent months, with Sudhir Behrani, owner of Sudhir Traders at Delhi's Azadpur mandi, suggesting shipments to India have risen 30-40 per cent on last year. However, with the Indian crop seemingly weathering the storm, the market has been plunged into a situation of oversupply.
“Traders had anticipated that there would be major loss in apple crop in Himachal Pradesh and the Jammu & Kashmir due to floods and hailstorms,” Behrani told Economic Times. “But in reality, there was no major loss.”
Behrani said prices for imported apples at Azadpur have dropped by around 30 per cent since the start of the year. The majority of the additional volume has come from the United States, Australia and New Zealand.