'These days apples are selling like hot cakes. We got Rs.1,800 per box for Royal Delicious, whereas it was just Rs.1,100 last year,' Chauhan said.

Varinder Sharma, an apple farmer from Oddi village in Shimla district, has sold apples for Rs.400,000 this year as compared to Rs.250,000 earned last year.

'This time, there is no glut of apples. So the demand has exceeded supply, which has made the farmer a king. The weather vagaries turned out to be a blessing for us,' the farmer said.

A large number of apple traders have been camping in apple growing belts for the past week to procure apples directly from farmers.

Said Hazi Mohd Saddiq, a trader from Sikar in Rajasthan: 'We are procuring 1,000 to 1,500 boxes of high quality apples daily. We are sending these boxes to various cities in Rajasthan, where the demand is quite high.'

Himachal Pradesh is one of India's major apple-producing regions, with more than 90 percent of the produce going to the domestic market.

The area under the apple crop has increased to 94,726 hectares in 2007-08 from 400 hectares in 1960-61.

The state's apple economy is pegged around Rs.1,500 crore, with Shimla, Kullu, Mandi, Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur and Chamba districts being the hubs.

Besides apple, other fruits like pears, peaches, cherries, apricots, kiwi, strawberry, olive, almonds and plums are the major commercial crops of the state.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)