The Union government’s decision to relax 20% customs duty on apples imported from the U.S. at the recently concluded G-20 summit left orchardists in the Kashmir Valley jittery. The announcement has come in the wake of a dip in apple prices this year. Kashmir’s apple industry is battling a number of issues.
“Farmers in Kashmir have always sought 100% duty on apple imports to ensure better returns for locals. We will keep demanding an increase in import duties,” Majid Aslam Wafai, chairperson, All Kashmir Fruit Growers Dealers, told The Hindu.
“Apple growers are in distress. They faced huge losses as their input cost increased and the crop was sold at cheap rates. Two-thirds of the crop, such as C-grade [fruit], is unworthy of the market and could be diverted for juices. However, the J&K Horticulture Producing and Marketing Corporation in Sopore remains defunct,” Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader M.Y. Tarigami said.
