November 29: Apples worth Rs 500 million have been exported from Mustang this year.    
Seventy percent of the apples produced in Mustang have been supplied outside the district, according to the district-based agriculture knowledge centre. The export amounted to 4,620 metric tons.    
The apples produced in the district are sold at Rs 100 per kg in September and at Rs 120-130 per kg in November.    
However, the farmers said the apples were sold at Rs 110 per kg in an average. Chief of the agriculture knowledge centre in Mustang, Prakash Bastakoti, informed that the production of apple increased by 18.56 percent this year.

"The production has increased due to favourable climate and new plants," he said.    
The apples were planted in 580 hectares of land in Mustang. The farming is done in all five local levels of Mustang. A recent survey had revealed that 11.37 metric tons of apples are produced in a hectare of land, Bastakoti added.    
Agriculture officer for PM Agriculture Modernization Project, Netra Bhatta, said nearly 70 metric tons of apples are kept in six cold stores for off-season sale. In March-April, the apple will fetch better price.    
Apples are produced in areas with an altitude of 2,500 meter above the sea level. The cold weather with snow adds quality and taste to the apple.    
The tourists visiting Mustang buy apples as gift. There are also six liquor factories which produce liquor by processing apples. -- RSS