Srinagar, February 27 Apple growers from Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand will protest in Delhi next month against the proposed duty concession on US apples, in an effort to protect domestic growers from losses.
India has granted a quota-based duty concession to the US on apples under the interim trade pact. Apples from the US will enter the Indian market without any import duties.
The growers are concerned that apples from the US will flood the Indian market and cause a major setback for domestic farmers.
"We have formed the Apple Farmers Federation of India (AFFI), comprising apple growers from Kashmir, Himachal, and Uttarakhand. We have decided to protest in Delhi in March (against the trade deal)," MLA Kulgam and trade union leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami told reporters here.
Tarigami said that AFFI has appealed to the Samyukta Kisan Morcha to stand in solidarity with the apple farmers of the country who are facing a threat to their livelihoods.
"The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, which forced the government to repeal the three farm laws during the protests that lasted more than a year, has assured the federation that it will support the protest. They have promised that their leadership will join the protests," he added.
On the Indo-US trade deal, Tarigami said it is "practically a surrender" to America.
"You would know that in this trade deal, the US has restricted India from buying oil from Russia. If our country has to buy something, we must consider the wishes of the US; we would not be sovereign in our decisions regarding trade," he said.
The MLA from Kulgam said that the apple industry is the backbone of the Kashmir economy.
"There are small industrial units in Jammu, but we do not have many here. We had handicrafts, but they are also in decline. Our last hope is apples, but we cannot now compete with the American apples," he added.
