Covid-19 casts shadow on cherry crop in Kashmir, growers staring at losses

As the harvesting of Kashmir’s first crop — cherry, expected to surpass 12,000-metric tonne mark this year — has started, the growers of the perishable fruit are staring at losses due to the nationwide lockdown to combat Covid-19.

Besides, shortage of pesticides and packaging boxes, non-availability of two main markets — Mumbai and Ahmedabad due to lockdown — is giving sleepless night to the growers, who fear that they may not be able to export the fruit or find buyers outside due to closure of markets.