Apple growers held demonetisation responsible for the problem, as agents do not pay them at the time of sale by claiming money is not in circulation.
Shimla: Sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh are notorious for delaying paying the dues of sugarcane farmers by several months, and often even by years. Now, arthiyas (commission agents) in Himachal Pradesh have decided to compete with the sugar mills.
Outstanding dues of apple growers in the hill state are in excess of Rs 100 crore by a conservative estimate, and upwards of Rs 1,000 crore according to another. Ironically, the conservative estimate comes from an organisation backed by the CPI(M) and the more radical estimate comes from a body close to the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).
“For the past four or five years, the arthiyas have not been making payment to apple growers. The dues are now in excess of Rs 100 crore,” said Sanjay Chauhan, secretary of the Kisan Sangharsh Samiti (KSS), which is backed by the CPI(M).
Harish Chauhan, president of the Himachal Pradesh Fruit, Vegetables and Flowers Growers Association (HPFVFGA), which has links to the BJP, concedes that he doesn’t often agree with the KSS. But, agrees on this particular issue, apart from the amount of pending dues, which he contends are higher.
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