Yog Raj Sharma
The North News
Shimla, January 13
Apple growers in Himachal Pradesh have met the Chief Minister to voice strong opposition to a reduction in import duties on apples under the India–New Zealand free trade agreement, warning that cheaper imports could severely harm local farmers and their livelihoods.
The growers held a meeting in Shimla with the state’s Chief Minister and the Horticulture Minister, urging the state government to take up their concerns with the central government. They said the move would make imported apples cheaper, placing domestic produce at a disadvantage in the market.
Sanjay Chauhan, an apple grower, said the decision to lower import duties would deal a major blow to growers in Himachal Pradesh, as well as in neighbouring Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand. He recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised in 2014 to raise import duties to protect Indian farmers, but argued that the current policy went in the opposite direction. Chauhan said the Chief Minister had assured growers that he would raise the issue with the central government in New Delhi.
Himachal Pradesh Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi said the state government would strongly present the growers’ demands before the centre. He warned that if import duties were not increased, apple growers could be forced to resort to protests.
The minister added that the state government stood firmly with the growers and would not allow their interests to be ignored.
