Shadow Correspondent
Jammu, dEC 23:
Kashmir apple sector is going to face more challenges in the upcoming year after New Zealand said India will give 25 percent tax concessions for its apples under any free trade agreement signed by India. At present, India has a 50 per cent import duty on apples.
New Zealand’s trade ministry said in a statement that at present, India’s annual apple imports from New Zealand is at 31,392.6 tonnes (MT) worth USD 32.4 million against the country’s total apple imports of 519,651.8 MT (USD 424.6 million).
Under the free trade agreement, import duty concessions will be given to New Zealand on 32,500 MT in the first year of the pact. The imports will be increased to 45,000 MT in the sixth year at 25 per cent duty and MIP of USD 1.25/kg. Beyond this quota, a 50 per cent duty will come into force.
Apple traders and experts in the Kashmir valley have said this concession will give a befitting challenge in the Indian market to the multi-crore Kashmir apple industry, which makes up 78 per cent of the apple
Kashmiri Apple enters
production in India. A major contributor to the farmer economy of Jammu and Kashmir, the apple industry gives livelihood to thirty five lakh persons every season as 2.15 lakh hectares of land are under apples, producing more than 2.4 lakh Metric Tons.
Bashir Ahmad Basheer, the chairman of the Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers-Cum-Dealers Union, said the tax concessions will impact the apple industry of Kashmir which is already facing challenges of weather-disrupted connectivity and other logistics.
He said the most impacted will be the apples kept in cold storages which are sold in off-season as prime harvesting season in the Valley takes off from September onwards. “Lately, apple storage in cold stores has gained momentum as farmers fetch high prices in the off season. But this will get impacted when the apples with tariff concessions from New Zealand get implemented in the market. So, we are again at a loss despite moving towards technology in the apple industry,” Basheer told ETV Bharat.
Former finance minister and economist Haseeb A Drabu said although the agreement with New Zealand “is not an open ended confession”, the Kashmir apple industry has to modernise itself for the “long term pattern” where India may sign agreements on trade with other countries.
“We can not afford to sit and express concern. Both the grower and the government must get together and bring technology like high density, cold storage, and more research to increase quality production. Our production is 11 tons per hectare while globally it is 44 tons per hectare. So we have to increase our production,” Drabu told ETV Bharat.
He said cost management, quality control and sustainability, competitive marketing, branding must be brought in “ to survive in the market”. “Both the grower and government have to get together to make this industry thrive in the market,” he said.
Fayaz Ahmad Malik, President of Sopore Fruit Mandi, said the Kashmir apples faced similar challenges previously when imports from US, Australia, Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey created more competition to its quality. “Our fruit has less quality than the foreign imports. Such concessions give a tough competition in the market to our apple as it fetches less rates that ultimately hit a marginal grower,” Malik told ETV Bharat.
