SRINAGAR: Apple growers across the Kashmir have voiced deep concern over the proposed India–United States interim trade agreement, warning that easier market access for American apples could sharply undercut local produce and threaten the backbone of the region’s rural economy.
Growers, traders and horticulture bodies say that if tariffs on US apples are reduced or quotas expanded, cheaper imports backed by heavy American farm subsidies could flood Indian markets, depressing prices for domestic fruit and placing thousands of small and marginal farmers at risk.
“This will spell doom for us,” Fayaz Ahmad Malik, president of the Sopore Fruit Mandi, the largest fruit market in the Valley, told The Indian Express. “We simply cannot compete with US growers. They receive government backing at every stage of cultivation. They get substantial subsidies and cash transfers, while we don’t even have access to crop insurance.”
The apple industry is widely regarded as the economic lifeline of Jammu and Kashmir, particularly the Kashmir Valley. Official figures show the Valley contributes about 75 per cent of India’s total apple output, producing nearly 20 lakh metric tonnes annually. The sector is estimated to be worth around Rs 10,000 crore and supports nearly 50 lakh people directly or indirectly, from orchard owners and labourers to transporters, packers and commission agents.
Industry representatives say that any policy change that makes imports cheaper could have a cascading effect on prices, employment and household incomes.
Malik pointed to what growers describe as an uneven trade environment. “When we send our apples to Bangladesh, we pay more than 100 per cent tax. How can the government reduce taxes for American apples? It will destroy the local industry and the local economy,” he said.
The Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers-cum-Dealers’ Union, an umbrella body of growers’ associations, has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging the Centre to impose import duties of over 100 per cent on American and European apples to protect domestic producers.
Union chairman Bashir Ahmad Basheer said the demand for higher duties has been longstanding. “Apple growers in Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand need protection to compete in Indian markets. If customs duties are reduced, imported apples will become cheaper and traders will naturally prefer them over local produce,” he said.
He added that more than seven lakh families depend directly or indirectly on the horticulture sector and that recurring imports from countries such as Iran and the United States have already exerted pressure on local prices.
“Every year we face new challenges. Sometimes apples are imported from Iran, sometimes from the US and other countries. The cumulative impact damages local growers, especially small and marginal farmers who are already struggling with rising input costs, erratic weather, pest attacks and transport issues,” Basheer said.
Growers say the industry is already under stress from climate change, which has affected yield and fruit quality in recent years. Complaints about spurious pesticides, lack of reliable crop insurance and inadequate institutional support have further compounded their problems.
Wasim, a grower from Shopian, often referred to as the address for the apple with long shelf life, said government slogans promoting domestic manufacturing and local products have not translated into protection for horticulture. “There is no comparison between US growers and Indian growers. The US government backs them at every stage. Here, we don’t get even basic support,” he said.
The apprehensions have also entered the political arena. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah recently warned that the proposed trade arrangement could severely affect the Union Territory’s horticulture and dry fruit sectors if American products enter the market at lower duties.
Opposition leaders have echoed these concerns in Parliament. Congress MP Jebi Mather said the agreement could adversely impact multiple domestic sectors, particularly apple growers in Kashmir, and accused the government of ignoring livelihood issues. “Apple growers from Kashmir have already said that their business is affected. There will be similar responses from different sectors. We are speaking for the people,” she said.
Opposition MPs staged protests at Parliament, describing the trade pact as a “trap deal,” while trade unions and farmer groups backed nationwide demonstrations opposing policies they say harm workers and farmers.
The trade deal framework, announced by India and the United States, outlines reciprocal tariff reductions and expanded market access. Under the interim agreement, India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on several US industrial and agricultural goods, including fresh and processed fruit. In return, the United States will apply an 18 per cent tariff on certain Indian goods, with further concessions planned on items such as generic pharmaceuticals and gems once the agreement is finalised.
However, the Union government has sought to reassure growers that apples have not been fully opened up for unrestricted imports.
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the government has fixed a quota for US apple imports that is below current levels and maintained safeguards such as minimum import prices and duties to prevent dumping.
“We are not surplus in apples. The demand is more than 25 to 26 lakh tonnes, while we produce about 20 to 21 lakh tonnes. We already import about 5.5 lakh tonnes every year,” Goyal said, adding that a minimum import price and duty structure ensure that apples cannot enter the country at artificially low rates.
He stated that the landed price of imported apples would remain high enough to protect domestic growers and that the government had been “very cautious” in opening the sector.
Despite these assurances, growers remain unconvinced. With their counterparts in Himachal Pradesh calling for shutdowns and protests against the inclusion of agricultural produce in the deal, fruit traders in Kashmir are also considering similar action.
For many in the Valley, the issue is not merely about trade policy but about survival. With thousands of families dependent on orchards for their annual income, growers fear that even a modest fall in prices could erase already thin margins.
As negotiations move forward, Kashmir’s apple belt watches closely, concerned that decisions taken far from the orchards could reshape the future of one of the region’s most vital industries.
