TNR News Network
Shimla:
The Centre has clarified in the Rajya Sabha that it has no proposal to raise the import duty on apples, dealing a blow to Himachal Pradesh’s apple growers who have long demanded stricter protection from cheaper foreign imports.
In a written reply to a question raised by Congress MP Harsh Mahajan, who belongs to Chamba in Himachal Pradesh, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said the minimum import price (MIP) for apples remains Rs 50 per kg and the current import duty is 50 per cent.
Union Minister Jitin Prasada, responding on behalf of the ministry, further confirmed that no proposal to increase this duty is under consideration.
The reply has triggered a sharp political backlash in Himachal, with the Congress, CPM and apple growers accusing the BJP of misleading the farming community. The controversy centres around a claim made by BJP leader from Kotkhai Chetan Bragta on July 5 in Shimla where he stated that the MIP had been raised to Rs 80 per kg, something the Centre has now categorically denied.
How higher duty would have helped local orchardists
The MIP hike to Rs 80 was being hailed as a potential lifeline for Himachal’s Rs 5,500-crore apple economy, which faces stiff competition from imported apples, especially those from Turkey and Iran.
Growers in Himachal, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand have been demanding both an increase in MIP and a steeper import duty to safeguard their produce. If the MIP had been revised to Rs 80, and with the current 50% import duty, imported apples would have landed in India at no less than Rs 120 per kg, offering domestic growers a competitive edge.
“However, with the MIP unchanged at Rs 50, growers feel betrayed. Over 2.5 lakh apple-growing families in Himachal have consistently urged the government to hike both the MIP and import duty, a demand Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself had acknowledged during a 2014 rally in Sundernagar, promising to raise the duty to 100 per cent. Ironically, rather than increasing, the duty on Washington apples has been slashed from 75 per cent to 50 per cent over the years,” said Chaman Tanta, a progressive grower from Shimla.
Reacting to the Rajya Sabha response, Congress leader Satpal Chauhan accused Chetan Bragta of spreading lies. “Chetan Bragta keeps floating hollow claims and thinks apple growers are illiterate. He has misled a highly aware farming community,” said Chauhan, pointing out that Bragta often claims to be in talks with ministries to raise the duty, yet no such proposal exists according to the Centre’s official reply.
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