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Reducing import duty on apples under FTA with NZ anti-national: Congress

PM Modi had made tall promises to protect the interests of apple growers during his visits to Himachal Pradesh, but those assurances have so far proved to be false, said Kuldeep Singh Rathore

2 min readShimlaDec 24, 2025 08:20 PM IST

Rathore said that Himachal Pradesh has an apple-based economy worth around Rs 5,000 crore, which will be adversely affected by the new decision. (File Photo)

All India Congress Committee spokesperson and Theog MLA Kuldeep Singh Rathore Wednesday expressed surprise over the union government’s decision to reduce the import duty on apples from 50 per cent to 25 per cent under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with New Zealand, terming the move anti-national and against the interests of the country’s apple growers.

Rathore said, “The Prime Minister repeatedly speaks about promoting indigenous products, reducing import duty on foreign apples amounts to encouraging imports and strangling domestic apple producers. PM Modi had made tall promises to protect the interests of apple growers during his visits to Himachal Pradesh, but those assurances have so far proved to be false.”

Rathore said that Himachal Pradesh has an apple-based economy worth around Rs 5,000 crore, which will be adversely affected by the new decision. He pointed out that apple growers are already suffering heavy losses due to rising input costs and drought-like conditions, and the influx of cheaper imported apples will deprive domestic and state growers of fair prices for their produce.

The Congress leader urged the union Commerce Minister to reconsider the decision in the national interest and refrain from implementing it. He also appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to honour the promises made to apple growers in the state, saying that the import duty on foreign apples should be increased to 100 per cent, as promised earlier.

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