Amid the ongoing India-US trade talks, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan stated that the Narendra Modi government will adjust duties to make imported apples more expensive and encourage domestic demand.
He was addressing a group of students, farmers, and scientists in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, July 4.
Jammu and Kashmir is a hub for apple trade in India, and together with neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, accounts for almost 97 per cent of the approximately 2.4 to 2.5 million tonnes of apples grown domestically.
The United States, in the ongoing bilateral trade talks with India, has been pressing for greater access to the domestic market for its agricultural produce, with apples being one of the items.
India currently imposes around 50 per cent duty on apples imported from the US, a rate that was even higher just a few years ago. The US seeks a reduction in duties to facilitate easier access to the Indian market.
Why should we bring fruits from abroad? We can make Jammu and Kashmir a horticulture hub of India, Chouhan said.
The minister added that instructions have been issued to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research to conduct more research aimed at improving the yield of apples grown in India.
Chouhan also stated that he would discuss with the railway ministry to ensure that apples from Jammu and Kashmir are efficiently transported to all parts of India.
Recently, apple growers from Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh had met with the chief ministers of their respective states to jointly approach the central government. Their aim was to ensure that no unreasonable changes are made to the tariff structure for apples imported from the US as part of the trade deal.
'Since 2001, India's apple imports have climbed from 200,000 tonnes to 600,000 tonnes, increasing from 1.7 per cent to 22.5 per cent of domestic production. Foreign apples from the US and other countries are out-competing our domestic fruit, putting the livelihoods of more than 800,000 apple-growing households at risk,' a statement from the Apple Farmers' Federation of India, representing apple growers from Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, said a few days ago.
-- Sanjeeb Mukherjee, Business Standard
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