Mubashir Aalam Wani
Srinagar, Jun 5: Not all is well between fruit growers and Controlled Atmosphere (CA) and cold storage owners with former alleging the facility owners for charging them exorbitant rates for various services.
Fruit growers and dealers accused the owners of charging exorbitant rates for various services, including cardboard boxes, storage fees, tape charges, and bin/crate charges.
“Exorbitant rates are charged by CA/cold store owners for cardboard boxes, which are quite inferior. In fact a good quality type of cardboard material is available in the open market, which is 30 percent cheaper that the ones sold by the CA/cold store owners,” chairman Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers (KVFG) Union Bashir Ahmad Bashir said.
“The CA/cold store owners do not allow us to procure cardboard boxes and other packing material from the open market. They force us to buy from them at exorbitant rates, which is unfair and exploitative,” he added.
The fruit growers and dealers also alleged that the Jammu and Kashmir Procedure and Instructions for Controlled Atmosphere Stores (JKPICCA) owners are “engaging in arbitrary practices when it comes to storage charges for apple crops.”
“The apple produce of a single party is kept in different chambers of the CA/cold store. We are compelled to store our consignments for a period of five months at a time,” Bashir said.
The KVFG claims to have held several meetings with the managing body of JKPICCA, headed by its president, seeking the execution of a fresh agreement to fix norms and uniform rates in the interest of the horticulture industry and fruit growers/dealers.
“However, despite commitments, JKPICCA has failed to respond or execute any such agreement.”
The KVFG has appealed to the government to intervene and address their grievances.
They demanded that the excessive rates of Rs. 30-40 per box collected by JKPICCA owners from valley-based fruit growers/dealers for the storage of apple crops during the 2023-24 fruit season be returned.
The union has sought the constitution of a regulatory committee comprising representatives from KVFG Union, JKPICCA, and independent experts nominated by the government to determine fair and uniform cold storage rates, ensuring transparency and preventing exploitation.
“We urge the government to ensure an open option for valley-based fruit growers/dealers to procure cardboard material and other packing charges from sources of their choice, without being forced to purchase from JKPICCA at inflated rates,” Bashir said.
