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Himachal apple growers face shortage of cartons

SHIMLA: After the problem of untimely fall of leaves and fruits in the apple orchards, the Himachal Pradesh farmers are now facing an acute shortage of cardboard boxes for their fresh produce.

Though the State does not have a bountiful crop this year, more than two crore cartons are required by the growers for the current produce, according to an estimate.

The major supplylier of cartons are private manufacturers who switched over from wooden to cardboard boxes a few years ago. For some years, the State Government had also supplied cardboard packaging material to discourage people from felling trees. But the public sector packaging units had to be shut down after they suffered losses due to ‘errors’ by some top officials in the management.

The incumbent government has planned to pass on the massive Agro Packaging India Limited carton factory at Gumma in upper Shimla into private hands. But the confederation of growers has vehemently opposed this idea. According to it, the government should run it despite losses since it is in the interest of poor farmers who cannot afford the unsubsidised cartons by private companies.

They also alleged that the private packaging material was not up to the mark and their produce fetches a lower market price. The Gumma factory was supplying a quality wrapping material for the apples, the farm leaders maintained while claiming that they would begin agitation if the unit was not resumed immediately.

On the other hand, the private carton manufacturers of North India are planning to go for a strike next week after complaining a sharp increase in raw material prices. There has been an increase of 30 per cent and apple growers from the State would be badly affected, said the manufacturers.

Even other small and big industries dependent on carton box packaging will be affected by this strike in the first week of August.

The State owned Horticulture Produce Marketing Corporation is also planning to offer plastic boxes to farmers as an alternative now, sources said. But they are going be very less in number and would be expensive and out of reach of the poor and marginal peasants, said Onkar Shad, a senior Kissan Sabha leader.

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Himachal apple growers face shortage of cartons

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