Apple Matters

Global fluctuations have ramifications for even the remotest areas of the world, in the smallest of matters. That is how the world of today functions. As the economies and markets stand integrated the shocks travel through the entire network in real time.

The recent shift in the US attitude towards the rest of the globe, after the Trump administration took over, is impacting the world significantly. The war on tariffs so bitterly waged by Trump is unsettling the earlier order of things. In this shift, India is also getting impacted. Despite India-US relations in the broader diplomatic domain, the shift in US economic policies can hurt the Indian market in many ways. In our small geography, Kashmir is also fearful of getting hit.

If the tariff war makes India down the bar, it would mean things from US becoming cheaper in the market. That will have a direct bearing on the local markets. In case of Kashmir, the apple industry is feeling the heat. If the tariff rates form US imports are reduced it would mean cheaper US apples available in markets. That means the horticulture produce form the valley will fetch less money. It directly would hit the livelihoods, as is feared by the concerned growers and trade bodies.

These bodies have expressed deep fears on this count and also reached out to the national leadership. Though the Union government has refuted Trump’s claims that India had agreed to reduce tariffs, the danger still lurks. According to reports, in a meeting with a parliamentary standing committee on Monday, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal has clarified that “New Delhi had not made any commitment to the US on reducing tariffs”, and that negotiations were still ongoing.

The outcome of these negations will determine the fate of how the apple market will behave in the coming days. In case the tariff rates are lowered, it will be a blow to the local apple industry. One can only expect that while negotiating international pressure local anxieties are also taken care of. For the local government it is time to sit with the stakeholders and chalk out a comprehensive strategy on how to save horticulture sector from the market vagaries.