Road shipment of Ladakhi apricots should lead to reduced costs, drive demand

The government claims that road transport will reduce the cost of apricots in the country and drive demand, providing a fillip to Ladakh’s farmers.(Representative file Image: ANI)

The union territory (UT) of Ladakh has achieved a significant milestone by distributing its apricots across the country by road for the first-time.

Apricots are the primary cash crop for farmers in Ladakh, known for its rugged terrain and high-altitude deserts, and they are being exported to different states by road, courtesy FastBeetle Logistics Pvt Ltd, a Jammu and Kashmir-based startup that provides logistics support.

On July 27th, the first consignment of Ladakh's apricots, arguably the sweetest in the world to your correspondent, were despatched by road from Leh to Mumbai, with Ladakh’s Horticulture Secretary, Ravinder Kumar, flagging off the first shipment.

The government claims that road transport will reduce the cost of apricots in the country and drive demand, providing a fillip to Ladakh’s farmers.

“The reduced costs will increase its demand in the domestic market. For example, shipping apricots by air costs Rs 60 per kg, compared to just Rs. 5 per kg by road. This will ultimately benefit farmers as well as consumers,” said Sheikh Samiullah, CEO and the co-founder of FastBeetle.

The startup, which focuses on last-mile logistics in the union territories of J&K and Ladakh, has so far sent eight tonnes of apricots to hubs in Delhi and Mumbai, from where the fruits will be sent to different states. “We are proud to provide logistics support for Ladakhi apricots, and our company looks forward to future partnerships in the thriving region of Ladakh,” Samiullah told Moneycontrol.

Zakir Hussain Zaidi, CEO, Halman Apricots, a four-year-old Ladakhi company that trades in apricots — locally known as chulli — and other local fruits, told Moneycontrol that as apricots are perishable, the cold chain is maintained properly in the vehicles so that fresh produce is delivered to consumers.

“We maintain the optimal temperature between 2 to 4 degree Celsius in the vehicles, and the crop is delivered fresh,’’ said Zaidi.

Ladakh is the largest apricot producer in India with an output of 28 tonnes, accounting for nearly 60-70 percent of the country's total production.

“The demand for Ladakhi apricots was always high, but transportation was a barrier. These apricots are world-famous because they’re organic as no chemical fertiliser or pesticide is used by the farmers,” said Kumar.

The dried apricots, locally known as phating, are also known for their sweetness and are one of the main commodities traded here.

In September 2021, the first consignment of apricots was exported to Dubai (via Mumbai) after nearly 50 long years.

Besides the UAE, Ladakhi apricots have been exported to other middle-eastern countries like Oman and Qatar. Last year, some trial shipments were sent to Singapore, Mauritius, and Vietnam.

Some of the important apricot varieties grown in the cold desert of Ladakh include halman, raktsey karpo (the sweetest of the lot), safaida, and khanteh (mostly used in juices and jams as it’s not that sweet). The halman variety is commercially farmed, while raktsey karpo, a rare variety, is not farmed on a large scale as it’s not very high yielding.

“Only 2,000 kgs of raktsey karpo is produced In the whole of Ladakh, which is sold instantly,” said Zaidi.

In December 2022, the raktsey karpo got the GI (Geographical Indication) tag. The GI tag certifies a product as having originated in a particular territory, with a certain quality, reputation, or characteristic that’s attributable to the geographic origin of the product.

According to Zaidi, there is substantial production of the halman variety in the region, which is sold at about Rs 250–280 per kg. He said that last year Ladakh had shipped 31 tonnes of this variety, and this year around 51 tonnes have been exported so far. Echoing Zaidi, Kumar added that the total area under apricot cultivation is about 2,303 hectares.

Ladakh’s nutritious Apricots have an important place in local culture, and both dry and fresh apricots are used in desserts served during traditional festivals. According to local lore, apricots were apparently introduced about a century back, either from China or central Asia.

This famous fruit is known for its high content of vitamin A and C, besides calcium, iron, carbohydrates, amino acids, sugar, and potassium.

Around 40 years back, the prevalence of the larvae of the codling moth in apricots had forced the then government to impose a ban on the export of these fruits to stop the pest from spreading to the apples of Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir valley. Experts say the moth is confined to the cold and arid region of Ladakh.

Two years after Ladakh became a union territory, the administration lifted the ban and started exporting apricots to both domestic as well as international markets.