Indian farmers fear a flood of cheap New Zealand apples if duty cuts take effect

Apple growers in Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh are presently beset by the prospect of imported produce from New Zealand flooding the market once duties are reduced as part of a new free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.

“Indian farmers rely on controlled-atmosphere cold storage to sell apples during the off-season, when they earn prices that sustain their families for the entire year. With reduced import duty, fresh New Zealand apples will enter Indian markets at lower prices, directly undercutting Indian apples stored in cold facilities,” Izhan Javed, an apple dealer and spokesperson of the J&K Fruits and Vegetables Processing and Integrated Cold Chain Association, told The Hindu.

Traders fear that the agreement, which proposes to reduce the import duty from 50% to 25%, could hit apples stored for the off-season trade hard. There are presently 397.08 lakh metric tonnes of apples in 92 cold storages across Kashmir.

“Over the last decade, farmers and industry have invested heavily in cold storage infrastructure. The FTA threatens to make these investments economically unviable, endangering the entire post-harvest ecosystem built with public and private capital. Trade deal has the potential to destroy off-season price stability and push farmers back into distress sales,” Mr. Javed said.

Higher productivity

Specifically, the Gala variety of apples introduced to orchards in Kashmir recently will be the first to take a hit. “India has only recently begun shifting to international apple varieties such as Gala. New Zealand has been producing these varieties for over 50 years, with 8–9 times higher productivity and much lower costs,” Mr. Javed added.

The growers said the FTA could destabilise the level playing field. Against the 0.40 hectares that the average Indian apple farmer works, orchardists in New Zealand, the U.S., and the EU operate 50-plus hectare farms, farmers in Kashmir said.

“Those countries rely on heavy mechanisation, large subsidies and 50% lower cost of production. It is no longer fair competition,” Mr. Javid added.

In Kashmir, 15 lakh families are associated with the apple trade, and it generates ₹30,000 crore annually. Orchardists are also keeping a close eye on the upcoming deal between India and apple-producing countries like Chile, the EU, and the U.S. “Cheap imports will lead to a collapse of the domestic apple industry,” Mr. Javid added.

Flood the market

This is a common refrain amongst apple growers in Himachal Pradesh too, which produces apples worth ₹5,000-6,000 crore annually and engages over 1.5 lakh families. Ravinder Chauhan, president of the Apple Growers Association of India, said that the Centre’s proposed move to slash import duty on New Zealand apples “will flood the market with cheaper apples”.

“The planned cut in import duty to 25% is expected to result in substantial market share loss and lower prices, plunging growers — already grappling with climate-related uncertainties, escalating input expenses, workforce shortages, and diminishing profits — into greater financial hardship,” Mr. Chauhan added.

Kuldeep Singh Rathore, Congress MLA from Theog constituency in Shimla district, also expressed alarm over the import duty issue, noting that implementing the FTA with New Zealand in its current form would establish a perilous precedent. “Other leading apple-exporting countries, including the USA, Chile, and Italy, which collectively represent more than 40% of worldwide apple exports, are likely to seek comparable benefits, spelling disaster for Himachal Pradesh’s farming community,” he said.