New Delhi [India], February 8 (ANI): Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday clarified that the Centre has not 'opened up' the market for US apples under the interim trade pact, but instead has given them a 'quota' that is less than current apple imports, while fully protecting domestic apple growers

Of the 5.5 lakh tonnes of apples that India exports, a large quantity of it comes from the United States, he said.

Goyal stated that India has not opened its market to agricultural products that remain in surplus in the country. However, he said apples were not produced in surplus, noting that India produces 20-21 lakh tonnes of apples while demand is over 25-26 lakh tonnes.

'We are not surplus in apples. The demand for apples is more than 25-26 lakh tons. We produce about 20-21 lakh tons. As we speak, we import 5.5 lakh tons of apples every year. And a large quantity of that comes from the United States of America. We have not opened up apples. We have given them a quota on apples, which we will procure from there. That is less than the Current imports of apples from the USA,' Goyal said in an interview with ANI.

The Union Minister argued that apple farmers in India will receive protection from import regulations that prevent cheap apples from flooding the market.

'We have been very cautious in our opening up. Today, Apple has a minimum import price of Rs 50. And there's a 50 per cent duty which adds Rs 25. So, Rs 75 is the base, or the floor, below which goods don't enter the country. So in some sense, that's the protection that the apple farmers also get, that nobody can dump material and make it so cheap that apples don't get a fair value. Even in the quota we have given to the US, the minimum import price is Rs 80. They make high-quality apples. It's Rs 80. There's a Rs 20 duty on that. So the landed price of that will be 100 rupees,' Goyal said.

'It's not in competition with our farmers. Not hurting the apple industry over here. And again, limited to a quota that is less than what they are exporting to India even today. And certainly only a portion of the 5.5 lakh tons of apples that we are importing into India. Tell me which farmer in any hill state is hurt by this. Let any farmer explain to me what is the hurt in this,' he added.

Goyal said that India has been importing walnuts even when the Congress was in power.

'We have been importing tree nuts for years and years. You may remember in your childhood having had California almonds. Pistachios are imported into the country. We import walnuts in India. As we speak, and for years, since Congress was in power, we have been importing it. There is a shortage of these products. We continue to import. There is not enough land in the hill states where this production can be expanded,' the Union Minister said.

'Simultaneously, we are talking of technology collaborations to help our farmers increase their productivity, for which we are working with our farmers, our trading partners. I just tied up with New Zealand. We have talked to New Zealand to help them bring their farmers to India and their technology to India, to help our, say, kiwi growers increase productivity. When I saw the kiwi farms there, I was very impressed. I said, I want to see that happen in India,' he added.

Apple growers in Himachal Pradesh's Kotkhai region expressed growing concern over the Indian government's recent free trade agreements (FTAs) with various countries. They fear a threat to domestic orchards and farmers' livelihoods.

A block-level meeting of the Himachal Apple Growers Association (HAGA) was held today at Khaneti in Kotkhai, with a large number of apple growers from surrounding villages in attendance. They resolved to join the nationwide strike on February 12 and prepare for the HAGA Kotkhai conference on February 23. (ANI)