JAMMU, 5 July 2025: Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday stated that the Centre will revise import duties on apples to discourage foreign shipments and protect domestic growers, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.
Addressing a gathering of students, farmers, and scientists in Jammu and Kashmir, Mr. Chouhan said the government’s priority was to strengthen India’s apple sector by making imported apples more expensive and boosting local demand.
“Why should we bring fruits from abroad? We can make Jammu and Kashmir a horticulture hub of India,” Chouhan said, adding that the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) had been directed to intensify research to improve apple yields.
Jammu and Kashmir, along with Himachal Pradesh, accounts for nearly 97 per cent of the country’s approximately 2.5 million tonnes of annual apple production.
The United States, in ongoing bilateral trade negotiations, has sought greater market access for its apples and other agricultural products, pressing for a reduction in India’s existing 50 per cent import duty.
However, Mr. Chouhan stressed that the government would resist such demands. “We will encourage our own farmers and safeguard their interests,” he said.
The minister also assured growers that he would consult the Railway Ministry to ensure that apples from Jammu and Kashmir could be transported efficiently to other states.
Recently, apple farmers from Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh held discussions with their state governments to request that tariff protections be preserved during the India–US trade talks.
Since 2001, India’s apple imports have grown from 200,000 tonnes to 600,000 tonnes, increasing from 1.7 per cent to 22.5 per cent of domestic production. “Foreign apples are out-competing our domestic fruit, threatening the livelihoods of more than 800,000 apple-growing households,” the Apple Farmers' Federation of India (AFFI) warned in a statement earlier this week.
