Indian Apple farmers oppose import duty reduction in the upcoming Indo-US trade deal

AFFI demands non-negotiable import duty on US apples in trade talks

The Apple Farmers Federation of India (AFFI) has appealed to MLAs and MPs of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh to send their Chief Ministers in a joint delegation to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demand that changes to the import duty on Washington apples be non-negotiable in the on-going discussion on the India-US trade deal.

A delegation led by M Y Tarigami, MLA and Convenor of AFFI, and Rakesh Singha, former MLA and Co-convenor of AFFI, met Jagat Singh Negi, Horticulture Minister of HP, in Shimla. He assured the delegation that he will speak with Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu. MY Tarigami also met the J & K Agriculture/ Horticulture Minister Javid Ahmad Dar and Nasir Aslam Wani, Advisor to the Chief Minister of J&K, Omar Abdullah, in Srinagar on the same issue. They also extended support on opposing the tariff reduction and also conveyed that the Union Minister for Agriculture, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, on his upcoming J&K visit, will be asked to protect the interests of domestic apple growers over the US, said AFFI in a statement.

Both the government representatives have responded positively to the suggestion of a joint Chief Ministerial delegation. It is relevant here to note that imports are forecast this year to reach six lakh metric tonnes (MT) from the actual five lakh+MT in the 2023/24 season as shipments from the US continue to grow from last year’s record(even without the tariff reduction). Since 2001, our apple imports have climbed from 0.2 lakh MT to 6 lakh MT, from 1.7 per cent of domestic production to 22.5 per cent. Foreign apples from the US and other countries are out-competing our domestic fruit, putting the lives of more than 8 lakh apple-growing households in peril,” said AFFI leaders.

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