JUMLA: Jumla has exported around 7,330 metric tons of apples to other districts so far this season, according to the District Agriculture Development Office.
Office Chief Ram Bhakta Adhikari said the district has produced approximately 19,500 metric tons of apples this year, generating an estimated turnover of Rs. 550 million. Farmers are currently selling apples from their orchards at a minimum price of Rs. 75 per kilogram.
In Banjarabala, located in Tatopani Rural Municipality-6, a collective apple farm spread across 7,140 ropanis has produced 34 metric tons of apples. According to Adhikari, apples worth Rs. 3 million have been sold from the farm alone.
Apple cultivation covers approximately 4,605 hectares, equivalent to 92,080 ropanis, across Jumla. The office has set a target of expanding cultivation by an additional 108 hectares, or 2,160 ropanis, in the current fiscal year.
Fuji apples are currently cultivated on 52 hectares in the district, although production this year has covered only 49 hectares, according to the office. Other varieties grown and marketed in Jumla include Red Delicious, Royal Delicious, Golden, Richa Red, Jonathan and Spore.
Apple exports and revenue are expected to increase as some traders store their produce in cold storage facilities and at home for sale later. According to the office, approximately 19,000 households across all eight local levels in the district depend on apple farming for their livelihoods.
Jumla’s apples have found a favourable market this year following the ban on Indian apples in Nepal, traders said. Maya Rokaya, an apple trader from Hima Rural Municipality, said she purchased 1,500 cartons of apples from the district and sold them in Nepalgunj.