By IANS,
Shimla : The Congress in Himachal Pradesh Sunday demanded a hike in import duty on apples to protect the domestic industry.
“The state is facing tough competition from China, which is marketing apples at much lower rates in the Indian market,” Congress leader Vidya Stokes told reporters here.
“I have apprised the central government,” said Stokes, a prominent apple grower in the region.
She demanded that the import duty on apples from all countries should be increased to save the domestic industry.
According to her, hailstorms in the past three months have damaged more than 80 percent crop in Shimla district alone.
Horticulture department estimates say this year’s apple production would be around 22.5 million boxes of 20 kg each – about 50 percent less than last year’s bumper production of 44.5 million boxes.
Himachal Pradesh’s apple boom is credited to Satyanand (Samuel Evans Stokes Junior).
Satyanand, an American missionary, first introduced high quality apples in the Kothgarh-Thanedar belt in upper Shimla in the early 1920s.
His daughter-in-law, Vidya Stokes, 82, a former state minister, manages most of the family’s orchards.
The economy of the state is highly dependent on apples, besides hydro-power and tourism. The apple industry is worth Rs.1,500 crore (around $330 million).