Rathore seeks ban on Iranian apple import

AICC spokesperson Kuldeep Singh Rathore, who is also Theog MLA, has accused the NDA government of destroying the apple economy. “The dumping of Iranian apple in the country via Afghanistan seems to be a part of a well-planned strategy and it’s a matter of great concern for the stakeholders of the apple economy,” he alleged.

Rathore demanded a complete ban on the import of Iranian apple and said, “Illegal import of the fruit is hurting the interests of local apple growers and this is not acceptable.” He alleged that the Iranian apple was being pushed into the Indian market via Afghanistan to escape import duty. “The Central Government has turned a blind eye to the issue. As per the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement, no import duty is levied on the fruit coming from Afghanistan and other signatories of the agreement. Without having to pay import duty, the apple through Afghanistan reaches the Indian market at cheap rates, hitting the demand and price of the local produce,” he added.

Rathore said, “When I raised the matter in the last Assembly session, the state government took up the matter with the Central Government and the import of apple via Afghanistan stopped for some time. However, it has started again.”

“Last year, growers and loaders, who store apple in CA stores, had suffered huge losses. If the Iranian apple keeps coming to the Indian market this way, people will again sustain losses on the stored fruit and stop storing it in future,” he claimed.