Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has launched the Pangi Apple brand to give apples from the remote tribal subdivision of Pangi in Chamba district a distinct market identity and improve returns for local growers. The initiative includes customised cartons supplied to farmers at a 50% subsidy.
The state government said the branding exercise is intended to promote naturally grown apples and strengthen the economy of Pangi, which has been declared Himachal Pradesh’s first natural farming subdivision. The launch took place on Saturday, with Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi and other officials in attendance.
Pangi currently has around 370 hectares under apple cultivation and more than 1.04 lakh apple plants. Production is expected to reach approximately 35,000 boxes, equivalent to about 550 metric tonnes, during the current season, according to the report.
The new packaging will be available in 20-kilogram and 10-kilogram cartons carrying the Pangi Apple identity. Until now, apples grown in the valley were reportedly sold outside the region in cartons labelled Kullu Apples or Kinnaur Apples. The government said this limited recognition of Pangi’s produce in the market.
The dedicated cartons are intended to associate the produce with its place of origin while supporting the state’s wider effort to promote natural farming. The subsidy is designed to reduce the packaging cost for growers and enable more farmers to sell their produce under a common regional identity.
The government said the natural farming programme is also aimed at improving livelihood opportunities in the subdivision. Around 6,300 farming households are expected to benefit from the initiative, although the report did not provide details on the number of cartons to be distributed, the subsidy allocation or the markets where the branded apples will be sold.
The branding programme links agricultural production with local economic development in a geographically remote area. For Pangi’s growers, the immediate operational change is the availability of standardised cartons that identify the produce by region rather than by the larger and better-known apple markets with which it was previously associated.
The state government also plans to develop Pangi as Himachal Pradesh’s first chemical-free subdivision under natural farming. The report did not specify a completion timeline or the monitoring system that will be used to certify produce as naturally grown or chemical-free.
The next stage of the initiative will involve supplying the subsidised cartons to farmers and expanding the Pangi Apple identity in the market during the current production season.
