KATHMANDU: Jumla has exported over 7,330 metric tons of apples to other districts so far. According to the Agriculture Development Office, the district is expected to produce 19,500 metric tons of apples this year, with an estimated market value of Rs 550 million. Local farmers are currently selling apples at a minimum price of Rs 75 per kilogram directly from their orchards.
Ram Bhakta Adhikari, chief of the Agriculture Development Office, stated that 34 metric tons of apples were produced from collective farming spanning 7,140 ropanis in Banjarawala, Tatopani Rural Municipality-6, generating Rs 3 million in sales. Currently, apple cultivation in Jumla covers 4,605 hectares. The office aims to expand cultivation by an additional 108 hectares in the current fiscal year.
High-quality Fuji apples are grown on 52 hectares, with 49 hectares yielding fruit this season. Other varieties, including Red Delicious, Royal Delicious, Golden, Richa Red, Jonathan, and Spore, are also being harvested and distributed. The office noted that total exports and revenue could increase as some traders have stored apples in cold storage and private facilities.
Approximately 19,000 households across all eight local levels of the district depend on apple farming. Demand for local apples has surged this year due to the halt in apple imports from India. Maya Rokaya, a local trader from Hima Rural Municipality, reported that she purchased 1,500 cartons of apples from the district for sale in Nepalgunj.
