Last Updated on January 15, 2021 at 6:54 pm
Government’s efforts to reorganize the horticulture products in Kashmir has caused it a loss of Rs 98 lakhs. Jammu and Kashmir Horticultural Produce Marketing and Processing Corporation (J&KHPMC) Limited had a stock of apples of Rs 2.03 crore which was lying with it for the past more than five years. This careless approach of the JKHPMC officials caused blocking of the amount and it had to sell all the stock at a reduced price of Rs 40 per kg which caused it a loss of Rs 98 lakhs.
J&KHPMC Limited which has its plant at Doabgah Sopore signed an agreement in August 2013 with M/S Unique Foods for supplying apple juice concentrate of 450 MTs at the rate of Rs 86,000 per MT for one year from 01 October 2013 to 30 September 2014.
On April 2012, the Corporation had 15 MTs of apple juice concentrate and produced 429 MTs during 2012-13 to 2014-15. Two hundred MTs were produced during 21 July 2012 to 12 December 2012, 135 MTs during 06 October 2013 to 02 December 2013, 14 MTs during 27 October 2014 to 27 November 2014 and nothing was produced for around three years. It resumed its operations for a brief period of 41 days from 23 October 2017 to 3 December 2017. Since working capital was not available, the plant stopped its production after producing 73 MTs of juice concentrate.
Sales records show that the corporation has an available stock of 517 MTs of apple juice concentrate while it could sell only 183 MTs during 2012-13 to 2017-18. Buyers who agreed to purchase 450 MTs of juice concentrate bought only 114 MTs from November 2013 to May 2014 citing that the juice was not of desired quality so, they refused to buy remaining stock.
Since the juice had already exceeded its shelf life of 18 months in June 2014, the Corporation sold 51 MTs at a reduced rate of Rs 60,000 per MTs to another buyer in May/ August 2016 which caused the corporation a loss of Rs 7.93 lakh. The Corporation made efforts to sell the remaining stock of 334 MTs. However, these efforts did not bear any fruits and caused blocking of the capital of Rs 2.03 crore.
