SRINAGAR: With tensions flaring between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam massacre and India’s retaliatory Operation Sindoor, the spotlight has turned sharply to India’s multi-billion-dollar apple economy, and the flood of foreign apples threatening its future.
Apple growers in Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir, reeling under the pressure of cheaper imported fruit from Turkey and Iran, have jointly raised an urgent call for the suspension of Turkish apple imports and the imposition of firm import duties on all foreign fruit. Their demand gained new urgency after Turkey publicly backed Pakistan in the recent conflict, prompting a growing boycott campaign across Indian wholesale fruit markets.
Harish Chauhan, convener of the Sanyukt Kisan Manch (SKM) in Himachal Pradesh, announced that a memorandum addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be submitted to Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla on May 20. “We want the Centre to stop importing apples from Turkey and Iran and not reduce the import tariff on Washington apples further. There must be a Minimum Import Price of Rs 100 per kg,” he was quoted as saying in various media reports.
Last year, the Centre had announced an import price floor of Rs 50 per kg for imported apples, but apple growers claim the directive was never implemented. According to Chauhan, imported apples from Turkey and Iran are entering the Indian market at Rs 60–65 and Rs 40 per kg, respectively, prices that severely undercut Indian growers, who spend about Rs 40 per kg on production and barely manage to sell premium-quality apples for Rs 50–60 per kg.
Figures cited by growers show a consistent influx: apple imports from Turkey rose from 1.10 lakh metric tons in 2022 to 1.29 lakh in 2023, before slightly dipping to 1.11 lakh metric tons. Iranian imports climbed even more dramatically, touching 1.16 lakh metric tons last year before dropping to 1.07 lakh in 2024.
The demands found further voice through a separate delegation of the Himalayan Apple Growers Society, which met Union Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday. “This is not just a trade issue — it’s about national pride,” said BJP leader and grower Chetan Singh Bragta, who was part of the delegation, according to reports appearing in media. “Turkey has supported Pakistan with military aid. Importing from such a country is a threat to our economy and security.”
The outcry has triggered a wave of support from traders in major mandis across Maharashtra and other states. While Turkish apples are not yet in season, they typically arrive post-October, wholesalers in Pune and Mumbai confirmed they would participate in the boycott. “We will not buy from Turkey. American, Iranian, South African and Polish apples are enough, along with domestic stock,” said Rohan Ursal, a fruit trader in Pune, was quoted saying in a Southern Newspaper.
In Kashmir, which contributes nearly 70 per cent of India’s apple production with over 1.5 million metric tons annually, the backlash against Turkish imports has come as a much-needed opportunity.
“This could be the break our apple industry has desperately needed,” said Bashir Ahmad Basheer, President of the Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers Union. “We have long suffered from market flooding by Turkish and Iranian varieties, especially Delicious and Red Gala, which are the very types grown across Kashmir.”
Basheer also warned that while Turkey’s role is in focus now, Iranian apples remain the bigger challenge. “They undercut our prices by 15 to 20 per cent. Without strong import tariffs, our growers will continue to lose.”
With a new apple season expected to begin in July, early assessments in Kashmir suggest favourable weather has raised hopes for a high-quality harvest. Local horticulture officials say the Valley is poised for one of its better seasons in recent years.
Economic experts believe that if the boycott translates into official import restrictions, domestic prices could rise by 10 to 15 per cent.
The apple trade in India, once largely reliant on local produce, has in recent years been upended by low-cost imports. The mounting demand for policy intervention, now fuelled by geopolitical concerns, marks a turning point that growers from Kashmir to Kullu hope will reverse years of losses.
