Apple growers differ with FM on import duty.

November 11, 2022

Responding to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s assertion that the import duty on apple had been levied at a maximum of 50% as agreed under the WTO pact, growers said the cess on the US produce was 70% since 2019.
“If the import duty on apple from the US could be enhanced to 70%, why it can’t be done for the produce being imported from other countries, especially Iran,” said Sanyukt Kisan Manch convener Harish Chauhan.
The apple growers have been demanding the increase of the import duty on apple to 100 per cent, especially on the cheap produce coming from Iran that’s hurting the domestic farmers a lot. “If the government wants, it can put apple in the special category status. It can then easily raise the duty,” said Lokinder Bisht, president, Progressive Growers’ Association.
Apple growers have been constantly demanding that central and state governments raise duty on imported apples. It is imported to India from 44 countries across the world, but the ones eating into our profits the most are from Chile and Iran.
Not just fruit growers from Himachal, but also those from Jammu & Kashmir, Uttrakhand and other apple-growing states are facing huge losses,” said Harish Chauhan, president of the Fruit, Vegetables and Flower Growers’ Association, Himachal Pradesh.
The ₹60,000 crore apple market is the source of sustenance for around 1.75 lakh families in Himachal. The fruit is grown in seven of HP’s 12 districts with Shimla, Kullu and Kinnaur being the largest producers.