Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Jan 12: The Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers and Dealers Union today alleged that the illegal supply of low-cost Iranian apples was affecting the Kashmiri fruit market and demanded the need for banning such imports.
Bashir Ahmad Bashir, president of the Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers Dealers Association and the New Kashmir Fruit Association while addressing a press conference here said that the supply of Iranian apples in India had severely affected the market for Kashmir apples.
He said that imposing a ban on Iranian apples entering India should be a top priority for saving the horticulture industry in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttrakhand.
“The import and dumping of Iranian apples in our country have put the fruit industry in J&K (UT), Himachal Pradesh, and Uttrakhand in a precarious position, putting small and marginal growers in a difficult situation. Farmers are losing a lot of money,” he said.
He said there are more than 1.50 crore boxes of apple produce stored in various cold stores and a comparable number of apple boxes in godowns that belong to small and marginal growers who expect the stored produce to fetch good returns.
“The apple industry is the backbone of the economies of J & K (UT), Himachal Pradesh, and Uttrakhand, and roughly 70% of households in J & K’s UT are directly or indirectly dependent on it,” he said.
He said that in view of the “Make In India” slogan of the Govt, the apples produced in J & K (UT), Himachal Pradesh, and Uttrakhand should be prioritized.
“Not only is the import, dumping, and selling of Iranian apples in our country terrible for small and marginal growers in J&K (UT), Himachal Pradesh, and Uttrakhand, but it also results in substantial losses to the State Exchequer,” he said.
In this regard, the growers, traders said that the Union has already raised the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Minister of Agriculture, and the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir (UT), requesting an immediate ban on Iranian apples entering the country so that the “horticulture industry” does not become a “sick industry.”
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