SRINAGAR: CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami has expressed dismay over the removal of additional duties on apples and walnuts from 35 percent to 15 percent imported from Washington and urged the GOI to roll back its decision.
“The decision will have a devastating effect on marginal growers and small traders in the region, as they are already grappling with huge losses for the last so many years. Reducing the import duty is bound to compound their distress,” he said.
Tarigami urged the Government to roll back the decision and demand imposing a 100 percent import duty on apples, and walnuts in the larger interests of growers who are in debt and unable to even recoup the input costs, because of inflation.
“Apple Farmer’s Federation of India has been constantly campaigning and raising the issues and demands confronting the apple farmers of Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand,” he said.
“Apple is the backbone of our economy and source of survival. We demand remunerative prices, revival of market intervention scheme (MIS), government-regulated crop insurance scheme, comprehensive loan waiver package, subsidy on fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides etc. We appeal to the whole community of growers and small traders to raise their voice against the anti-farmer and pro-corporate policies of the government,” Tarigami said.
