Apple growers in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand have expressed concern about the impact of the India-U.S. interim trade deal on domestic production and rural hill economies. India produces 22 to 25 lakh tons of apples annually, with around 18 lakh tons from Jammu and Kashmir, 5 lakh tons from Himachal Pradesh, and 50,000 tons from Uttarakhand. Smaller volumes come from northeastern states.
Under the trade arrangement, U.S. apples will enter India at a minimum import price of Rs 80 per kg with a 25 per cent duty, bringing the retail price to around Rs 100 per kg. Harish Chauhan, convenor of the Hill States Horticulture Forum, said this could undermine domestic markets. "India is already importing 6 lakh tons of apples from the U.S., which is equivalent to the quantity of apples we produce in Himachal Pradesh," he said.
Chauhan disputed claims of a domestic supply shortfall. "It is not right. We produce enough crops. The only shortcoming is in our supply chain, where the government is not helping us." He added, "Unlike the U.S., we don't have refrigerator vans for transporting fruit crops, and we don't have enough cold storage facilities. It is due to this shortcoming that 30-40 per cent of our crop is damaged and the farmer has to suffer a loss."
With higher duties previously limiting U.S. imports, growers argue that the reduction to 25 per cent increases competitive pressure. "Our markets will be flooded with cheaper imported varieties, and our farmers won't be able to compete in the market," Chauhan said. "In the US, an apple farmer is given an incentive of Rs 60 lakh while in India, we have a meagre Rs 27,000 and that too intertwined in bureaucratic hustles," he added.
In Himachal Pradesh, the apple sector is valued at Rs 3,500 to 4,000 crore annually, and officials report that 30 to 35 lakh apple boxes from last season remain in cold storage. "We are waiting to see how much produce from the U.S. will land in India in March-April. It is the time when our produce from last year reaches the country's markets," a Himachal Pradesh government official said.
Bashir Ahmad Basheer of the Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers Dealers Union said, "Apples are our Rs 15,000-crore industry on which the livelihoods of lakhs of families are directly or indirectly dependent. Around 80 per cent of the Kashmiri population banks on the apple industry."
Farmer groups, including the SKM and AIKS, have called for a nationwide strike on February 12. "We can only extend our verbal support to them. We fear that if we hold protests in Kashmir, we might end up in jail," said one grower. Chauhan added, "We will launch an agitation. It is a test for PM Modi's 'vocal for local' assertion. I am hopeful he will stand for desi (local), not videsi (foreign)."
Source: The Federal
