Adani Agri Fresh Company will buy apples four rupees more expensive than last year. The company will start buying from Monday at three collection centres. The company has released its rates on Sunday. This season the company has set a target to procure 25,000 MT apples, which is 7,000 MT more than last year. The company will buy XL apples with 80 to 100 per cent color at Rs 52 per kg while large, medium and small apples at Rs 76 per kg.
Last year, the rate of extra large apples was Rs 52 while the rate of large, medium and small apples was Rs 72 per kg. This season, XL apples with 60 to 80 per cent color will be bought at Rs 37 per kg while large, medium and small sized apples will be bought at Rs 61 per kg. Apples with less than 60 per cent color will be procured at Rs 20 per kg. Last year such an apple was bought for Rs 15 a kg. Small sized Pittu apples will be bought at Rs 52 per kg as against the rates fixed at Rs 42 last year for such apples.
The company has released these rates from August 15 to 19. After August 19, the rate will be changed. Adani has collection centers at Theog’s Sainj, Rohru’s Mehndli and Rampur’s Bithal. Adani Agri Fresh Terminal Manager Pankaj Mishra said that Adani has opened better rates than the mandis. Small sized apples are more this year, so keeping in mind the interests of the gardeners, the company has fixed the price of small apples by Rs 10 more than last year.
Government working under Adani’s pressure: Sanyukt Kisan Manch
Samyukta Kisan Manch has expressed dissatisfaction over the rates of Adani. Manch’s convenor Harish Chauhan and co-convenor Sanjay Chauhan say that the Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary had announced to constitute a government committee to fix the rates of private companies. No one knows where the committee is. The rates announced by Adani are less. Rates have not increased in proportion to the increase in cost. He said that the government is working under pressure from Adani and other companies.
