SKM (Samyukt Kisan Morcha), an organization of agricultural unions, has appealed to the state government to exclude apples from the free trade agreement and impose a 100% tax on imported apples.

 

Especially for low-priced apples imported from Iran for which customs duties should be increased greatly and phytosanitary inspections should be carried out strictly.

 

For local farmers, production costs have jumped but apple prices paid to growers have remained the same and even fallen in some cases.

 

Strong measures must be taken quickly otherwise apple production will no longer become profitable for farmers who will abandon this major crop for the state of Himachal Pradesh.