Shimla: As the Donald Trump–Narendra Modi trade tariff tit-for-tat awaits its endgame — after India upped the ante by raising duty on 28 items in June — apple farmers in Himachal Pradesh are set for an unexpectedly sweet growing season this year.
Buoyed by a bumper crop, the around 1.22 lakh growers have received an additional boost in the trade wars — American apples are on the tariff list, with the Modi government having raised import duty on them from 50 per cent to 70 per cent.
The state’s fruit farmers say the benefits have been immediate as American apples constitute almost 30 to 35 per cent of the total imports.
“I just had a word with a Delhi-based importer of American apples. He has already taken a decision to cut down on imports from America by 20 per cent, to begin with,” says Prakash Thakur, the former director of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), a body under the commerce ministry.
Thakur, though, said that Himachali apples will have to compete with produce from other countries.
“Duty on apples from other countries such as Chile, Turkey and Poland among others will remain at 50 per cent,” he said. “Yet, fewer apples brought from the US will give space to our fruit.”
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Growers want permanent duty
Thakur, a leading orchardist himself, however, wants the import duty on American apples to be imposed permanently and extended to produce from other countries as well.
Raising import duty on the apples had been an election issue in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha polls.
“It was the UPA government that was dilly-dallying on the issue,” says Narinder Bragta, the MLA from Jubbal-Kotkhai and BJP’s chief whip in the state assembly.
“During my term as horticulture minister, I had personally taken up the matter with then UPA minister for commerce, Anand Sharma, who hails from Shimla. He wrote back that under the World Trade Organisation rules, duty can’t be raised. Now Modiji has done it.”
For now, however, growers are making the most of this season.
In Shimla’s apple-bowl, primarily the Jubbal-Kotkhai, Kotgarh, Rohru, Chopal and Thanedar regions, the harvest season has just picked up momentum. Apple movement from Kullu, Mandi and Chamba will begin after 15 August while Kinnaur apples will start to reach the market by November-December.
So far, by the first week of August, over 28 lakh apple boxes had already been transported from the state. There is an outflow of 1.50 lakh to 2.25 lakh boxes a day, which is likely to increase by the next week.
Himachal expects to market nearly 4 crore apple boxes this year according to forecasts made by the state’s horticulture department. This is more than double the produce as compared to last year.
Apple belt growers making gains at the gates
Some impact of the tariff measure is already being felt at the apple belt, with growers attributing it to the quality of apples this season.
Motilal Chauhan, an apple grower at Dhangvi village in Kotkhai, says he got the best deal at his orchards.
“I got Rs 3,200 per box for a harvested crop of 2,500 boxes,” he said. “This is from a Ludhiana-based company that exports apples to Dubai, Singapore and Manila. They have chosen to buy my produce in the orchard offering a net deal of Rs 80 lakh. My apples can give a tough competition to American varieties. This is all due to the selection of good root-stock and best orchard management practices for which I had worked hard.”
He added that he still has over 3,200 boxes to sell. A box went for a maximum of Rs 3,000 last year, Chauhan said.
Another grower from the area said he sold apples at Rs 3,800 per box at Shimla’s wholesale market.
“The rates are good because lots of growers have started using the best farm practices. Those orchardists who have replaced their old and aged plants of 30 to 40 years, raised new plantations from root-stock brought from Italy, the US and New Zealand are repeating a good harvest,” says 51-year-old Sandeep Singha, who belongs to the legendary Stokes clan, known as the pioneers of Himachal’s apple revolution.
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As if apples are not coming in from China? Pl check your facts
Asking politicians about the apple will never a great idea !