Prolonged road closure cripples Kashmir’s apple industry, stakeholders call for justice

ISLAMABAD, Sep 21 (APP): The prolonged closure of the Srinagar-Jammu Highway and the authorities’ continued inaction in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) have plunged the Valley’s horticulture sector into one of its worst crises in recent memory.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the continued blockade of the Srinagar-Jammu Highway has caused immense losses to apple growers across the Valley, with tons of harvested fruit left to rot in trucks stranded for
days.
The horticulture sector, a backbone of Kashmir’s economy, is facing unprecedented hardship as the
supply chain remains paralyzed.
Despite repeated appeals from farmers and traders, authorities have failed to ensure smooth transportation, deepening the crisis.
Growers accuse the administration of gross negligence, warning that the situation could spiral further if immediate measures are not taken.
The rates outside are nowhere near expectations. Much of the fruit that finally reaches markets is damaged after being stuck on the highway for days. Buyers are not even paying the basic cost of production.” “For almost 20 days, our stock has remained stuck, leaving growers helpless,” he said.
At Jammu’s Narwal fruit mandi, a box of Kashmiri apples that once sold for INR 500 fetched just INR100 most of the stock deemed unfit for sale. “It’s mostly rotten. Customers don’t want this quality,” said a local trader.
The Srinagar-Jammu highway blockade has once again exposed the fragility of Kashmir’s horticultural economy, which contributes Rs 10,000 crore annually and supports over 35 lakh livelihoods. The Valley produces over 20 lakh metric tonnes of apples each year, nearly 70% of India’s total output, with major markets in Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmadabad, Kolkata, and even the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
Yet, year after year, the Kashmir growers remain at the mercy of landslides, shooting stones, and weather-induced closures on the Srinagar-Jammu Highway, a route infamous for its unreliability.
The Kashmir Valley’s trade associations have long urged authorities to develop an all-weather alternative route and invest in large-scale cold storage infrastructure. But little has been done, leaving growers trapped in a cycle of distress sales, uncertainty, and mounting debt.
“This is not a one-off event. It happens every year,” said another orchard from Shopian. “We talk about boosting exports, but how can we even compete when we can’t move our produce out on time?” Until structural issues are addressed, growers warn, such disruptions will keep pushing Kashmir’s orchards deeper into crisis while authorities continue to look the other way.
Without urgent infrastructure upgrades, alternative transport routes, and cold storage facilities, such crises will only repeat pushing Kashmir’s horticulture deeper into economic despair while officials remain unresponsive.