{"id":83515,"date":"2026-01-21T10:58:04","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T05:28:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=83515"},"modified":"2026-01-21T12:28:04","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T06:58:04","slug":"himachal-apple-import-duty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/himachal-apple-import-duty\/","title":{"rendered":"Himachal Apple Import Duty: Why Farmers Want 100% Protection"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Himachal Apple Import Duty Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister has urged the Centre to <\/span><b>raise import duty<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on foreign apples from 50% to 100% and impose a seasonal ban on imports from July to November to protect about 2.5 lakh apple farmers. Apples account for nearly 80% of the state\u2019s fruit output.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The demand follows the Centre\u2019s decision to cut import duty on <\/span><b>New Zealand apples<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to 25% for April\u2013August under the India\u2013New Zealand FTA.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jammu and Kashmir has echoed similar concerns, warning that rising imports add to existing challenges faced by domestic apple growers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>India Cuts Import Duty on New Zealand Apples Under FTA<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Under the India\u2013New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, India has reduced import duty on New Zealand apples from 50% to 25% under a quota system.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The quota starts at 32,500 tonnes in the first year and rises to 45,000 MT by the sixth year.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Imports must meet a minimum import price of $1.25 (\u20b9113.6) per kg, while shipments beyond the quota will continue to attract the higher 50% duty.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Apple Production in India: J&amp;K and Himachal at the Core<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India produces around <\/span><b>28 lakh metric tonnes<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (LMT) of apples annually.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Jammu &amp; Kashmir<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> dominates output with about 20 LMT, followed by <\/span><b>Himachal Pradesh<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at 5\u20136 LMT.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The remaining production comes from <\/span><b>Uttarakhand<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and a few <\/span><b>north-eastern states<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, where cultivation is still nascent.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The apple economy is valued at roughly \u20b912,000 crore in J&amp;K and \u20b94,500 crore in Himachal Pradesh, making growers in these two states the most vulnerable to increased imports and tariff concessions.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Farmers\u2019 Concerns Over Cheaper Imports<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Apple growers are worried about the <\/span><b>overlap<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> between New Zealand\u2019s export window and India\u2019s off-season market.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In India, apples are harvested between <\/span><b>July and November<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, while off-season sales depend on cold storage and Controlled Atmosphere (CA) facilities.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New Zealand, however, harvests apples between January\/February and May, allowing it to supply fresh apples when Indian farmers sell stored produce.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Impact on Domestic Prices and Sales<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Farmers warn that lower import duties will make foreign apples cheaper than domestic produce, directly affecting sales.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Jammu &amp; Kashmir, high-density varieties like Gala arrive in June, while Royal Delicious reaches markets by September.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since the duty cut applies from April to August, growers fear significant losses during peak marketing periods.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Threat to Market Share<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Orchardists from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu &amp; Kashmir argue that cheaper imports will depress domestic prices, reduce market share.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It will hit farmers hardest during the off-season, undermining incomes in India\u2019s key apple-producing regions.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Challenges Beyond Import Competition<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Climate Stress and Falling Yields<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; Apple production in HP and J&amp;K has been hit hard by climate change, erratic weather, reduced snowfall, prolonged dry spells, floods, cloudbursts and landslides.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These factors have weakened orchards and lowered productivity.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Rising Disease Burden<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; Changing climatic conditions have led to a surge in plant diseases such as fire blight, apple scab, powdery mildew, sooty blotch and bitter rot.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reduced snowfall and higher temperatures have worsened water scarcity, increasing disease vulnerability during dry seasons.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Production Losses and Quality Decline<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; In 2023, Himachal\u2019s apple output fell to 4.84 LMT, nearly 28% lower than 2022, following devastating floods.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although production recovered to 6.87 LMT in 2025, excessive rainfall and disasters caused quality deterioration, with nearly 1 LMT rejected for poor size and quality.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Infrastructure and Transport Bottlenecks<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; Logistical disruptions have compounded farmers\u2019 problems.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The prolonged closure of the Jammu\u2013Srinagar National Highway (NH-44) due to landslides last year stranded hundreds of trucks during peak harvest, delaying market access and causing losses.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Farmers\u2019 Demands for Protection<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Given these cumulative pressures, farmers\u2019 groups have demanded 100% import duty on foreign apples, a July\u2013November import ban, special category protection, and higher subsidies.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They argue that unlike countries such as New Zealand, where apple farming is heavily subsidised and insured, Indian growers receive limited direct support.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Farmer leaders stress that instead of increasing exposure to foreign competition, the government should focus on <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">targeted support, productivity enhancement, and resilience-building for domestic apple growers<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/himachal-cm-sukhu-apple-imports-nz-farmers-10485286\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Himachal apple import duty debate intensifies as farmers seek 100% tariff and seasonal ban to protect domestic growers from cheaper New Zealand apples.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":83561,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[4853,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-83515","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-himachal-apple-import-duty","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83515"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83515\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}