Himachal apple growers worry reduced tariffs in India-U.S. trade deal will flood market with cheaper American apples

Even as India negotiates a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) with the U.S. following American President Donald Trump’s steep tariff protectionism, apple growers in Himachal Pradesh are concerned about a potential reduction in tariffs on apples, which they fear could severely impact their livelihoods.

Amid these concerns, Kuldeep Singh Rathore, Congress MLA from Theog constituency in Shimla district and spokesperson of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), has urged political parties to collectively resist external pressure from any foreign country to protect the interests of the hill State’s apple growers.

All seven Members of Parliament from Himachal Pradesh, in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, should firmly raise the concerns of apple growers with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Mr. Rathore said.

In a letter to Mr. Goyal, the Congress MLA demanded the Central government safeguard and protect the interests of lakhs of small and marginal apple growers. “Recent signals from the ongoing India-U.S. trade talks indicate that the U.S. negotiation team is aggressively pushing for tariff reductions on American apples, particularly the Red Delicious variety, which directly competes with Himachal’s primary apple crop,” Mr. Rathore said in the letter.

“The U.S. has already secured significant tariff reductions on other agricultural products. For instance, import duties on almonds, pistachios, and walnuts were slashed from 100% to approximately 30% in recent bilateral agreements, boosting U.S. exports while adversely impacting Indian farmers. In 2023, U.S. walnut exports to India alone increased by 25% following these concessions, according to USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) trade data. A similar reduction in apple duties would devastate Himachal’s apple industry, which lacks the scale and subsidies of the U.S,” Mr. Rathore said, pointing out that the apple growers’ concerns were not speculative.

Apples are the backbone of Himachal Pradesh’s economy, supporting over 1.5 lakh families, primarily small and marginal farmers, with an annual turnover of approximately ₹5,000 crore. According to the the State’s Department of Horticulture, Himachal produces around 6.5 lakh metric tonnes of apples annually, accounting for nearly 25% of India’s total apple production. These farmers, operating on small landholdings, rely on apples for their primary income, with limited options in diversifying due to the State’s hilly terrain.

Any reduction in India’s current import duty on apples would be detrimental for local growers, Ravinder Chauhan, president of the Apple Growers Association of India, said. “As of now, the import duty on apples is at 50%, which in fact should be increased to 100%. If import duty is reduced, it will result in the flooding of the market with cheaper U.S. apples, which would badly hit the local growers and their livelihoods,” Mr. Chauhan told The Hindu.