Delhi sets the prices. But what if that changed? NITI Aayog’s 2026 roadmap wants to turn Kashmir from just a fruit supplier into a food-processing powerhouse; with over 100 new small units for grading, drying, and turning apples into juice, pulp, and snacks. Right now, most of Kashmir’s apples leave as raw fruit. The value-add happens elsewhere; in factories far from the orchards. There are already 2,247 registered food-processing units in J&K. But how many actually process apples? No one knows; because there’s no official apple-specific data. That’s a problem. If this works, growers could sell rejected, misshapen, or surplus apples to local processors; instead of letting them rot. For investors, it’s low-hanging fruit (literally); but only if supply chains, credit, and buyers are in place. For urban India, this means Kashmiri apple chips, juices, or purees in your local grocery. But only if the plan moves beyond paper. The real test? Can Kashmir capture the value it creates; or will the profit still flow out?