Kashmir Apple Industry Raises Alarm Over Cheaper Imports
Over 7 lakh families dependent on horticulture, Valley growers urge Centre to impose 100%+ duty on foreign apples, warning tariff cuts could crash local prices.
Srinagar: Kashmir’s horticulture sector — widely regarded as the backbone of the Union Territory’s rural economy — has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking protection from a likely surge in cheaper imported apples under the evolving US–India trade arrangement.
In a detailed representation, the Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers-cum-Dealers Union, led by its chairman Bashir Ahmad Basheer, requested the Government of India to impose import duties of more than 100 percent on apples imported from the United States and European countries. Growers fear that reduced tariffs would make foreign produce cheaper in Indian markets, directly impacting the demand and price of locally grown apples.
The growers said horticulture is not merely an agricultural activity in Jammu and Kashmir but the primary source of livelihood for a vast population. More than seven lakh families across Kashmir, as well as parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, depend either directly or indirectly on apple cultivation, grading, packaging, transport and trade. Any sharp fall in apple prices, they warned, would ripple through the entire rural economy.
The union highlighted that imports from countries such as Iran, the United States and Europe already create market pressure every season. Small and marginal orchardists, who form the majority of growers, are particularly vulnerable as they are already grappling with increasing input costs, unpredictable weather patterns, pest attacks, and high transportation expenses.
According to the growers, earlier reductions in import duties under trade agreements failed to help local farmers and instead made foreign apples more competitive in Indian mandis. Traders, they argued, tend to prefer imported varieties when prices are comparable, leaving Kashmiri produce unsold or forcing distress sales.
Calling Kashmir the “land of fruits” and one of India’s largest apple-producing regions, the growers stressed that the sector supports education, healthcare and household needs of rural families. They cautioned that further tariff reductions could destabilise the industry and push it toward economic decline.
The growers urged the Centre to adopt protective measures to ensure fair competition, stating that without safeguards the Valley’s apple economy — a pillar of employment and rural stability — could face a serious crisis.
