Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Feb 8: Apple growers and traders from the Kashmir Valley today urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to impose an import duty of over 100 per cent on American and European apples.
The stakeholders warned that continued low tariffs could severely damage the domestic horticulture sector and push it towards becoming a “sick industry”.
In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister, the Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers Cum Dealers Union, an umbrella body representing fruit growers’ associations across the Valley, said that growers had long been seeking a substantial hike in import duty to enable apple farmers from J&K Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand to compete fairly in Indian markets.
The traders expressed concern over the reduction of import duty from 50 per cent to 25 per cent under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and New Zealand, stating that the move had failed to yield any positive outcomes for domestic producers.
They said cheaper imports were putting intense pressure on local apple growers, whose livelihoods depend entirely on the horticulture sector.
Highlighting the economic significance of horticulture in J&K, the letter said that more than seven lakh families are directly or indirectly dependent on the industry, which is considered the backbone of the Union Territory’s economy.
It added that the income from apple cultivation supports basic necessities, including education, healthcare and household expenses of growers.
Describing Kashmir as the “land of fruits” and the “fruit bowl” of Northern India, the growers said the current import regime was undermining the region’s traditional strength in apple production.
They warned that repeated imports from countries such as Iran, the United States and European nations were cumulatively harming local producers, especially small and marginal farmers already struggling with rising input costs, erratic weather, pest attacks and transportation challenges.
The union pointed out that lower customs duty on imported apples would make them cheaper in domestic markets, encouraging traders to prefer foreign produce over locally grown apples.
This, they said, directly impacts the pricing and marketability of apples from Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Urging immediate intervention, the growers appealed to the Prime Minister to consider imposing import duty of over 100 per cent on American and European apples in the larger interest of the horticulture industry.
They cautioned that failure to do so could push J&K’s horticulture sector into decline, with serious socio-economic consequences for lakhs of families dependent on it.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
