Sopore town in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district aka apple town abuzz with buyers from across India

Sopore, situated in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district, is renowned as the apple town of the Kashmir Valley. Approximately 40% of the region’s apple production and sales are channeled through the Sopore Mandi, an open marketplace, making it a vital player in the horticultural sector, which contributes significantly to Jammu and Kashmir’s GDP.

Generating an annual revenue of over 3,000 crores, Sopore has long been a major center for horticultural trade in the Kashmir Valley. By September, the entire valley transforms into a hub for apple trading, with apples harvested throughout Sopore destined for markets across India and beyond.

The fruit mandi in Sopore is not only Asia’s second-largest but also the largest in terms of apple trade. It is linked to over 450 fruit mandis across India, serving as the primary distribution point for fruit produce. Countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan also receive direct apple supplies from the Sopore mandi.

Zahoor Ahmad Tantray, General Secretary of Sopore Fruit Mandi, highlighted the mandi’s significance: “Fruit mandi Sopore is Asia’s second-largest. This mandi was established in 1989, and it has been expanding since then. We do great business here, and Kashmir’s economy depends on horticulture.”

Sopore boasts the largest apple orchards in the Kashmir Valley, with many farmers transitioning from traditional apple farming to high-density apple farming. The central and Jammu and Kashmir governments have encouraged this shift, offering substantial subsidies to farmers. Waseem Hajini, a Sopore apple farmer with one of the town’s largest high-density orchards, emphasized the potential in high-density farming for the youth.

“I have been in the apple business for 6-7 years. We have had traditional apple trees for ages, but in 2016, I uprooted the plants and installed the Italian high-density ones. It has been a great journey,” said Hajini. “Sopore is known as the apple town, and the total revenue from the apple business in Sopore is around 6000 crores. The future is with high-density farming.”

Sopore, encompassing approximately 61 villages, is one of the oldest sub-divisions of Jammu and Kashmir. During the apple harvest season, the Sopore Mandi bustles with thousands of buyers from all corners of India, with around 400 trucks loaded with apples departing daily to different parts of the country.