Keep apples out of every future free trade deals: Kashmir Inc to Govt

Srinagar, Jul 24: Apple growers and trade bodies in Kashmir have hailed the exclusion of apples from the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA), calling it a “critical and farsighted” move that protects the region’s horticulture sector from the threat of low-cost imports.

The FTA, signed on Thursday, allows duty-free access to 95 per cent of Indian agricultural and processed food exports to the UK—including items like spices, pickles, marine products, and ready-to-eat foods. However, it consciously leaves out sensitive sectors such as apples, dairy, oats, and edible oils.

The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), which had repeatedly flagged the potential risks of unrestricted apple imports, said the government’s decision reflected a serious engagement with local concerns. KCCI had raised the issue of safeguarding horticulture during future trade negotiations directly with Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal during his visit to Kashmir earlier this year.

“This is not just a trade policy decision—it is a recognition of the socio-economic fabric of Kashmir,” said Javid Ahmad Tenga, President of KCCI. “The horticulture sector, especially apple cultivation, is the single largest employment generator in Jammu and Kashmir after government service. Inclusion of apples in the FTA would have triggered a market collapse for local growers, as they would be unable to compete with heavily subsidised apples from countries like the UK or the US.”

“We had explicitly raised this matter with Union Minister Piyush Goyal during his visit to Srinagar. We had urged that no trade deal should undermine the survival of our fruit growers. We are glad that the government has acted wisely and sensitively in the case of the UK FTA. The same must be ensured in all future trade pacts, particularly with the United States.”

Bashir Ahmad Basheer, Chairman of the Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers Cum Dealers Union, said the decision had come as a much-needed relief for orchardists already facing severe distress due to declining prices and rising input costs.

“We had made it clear through multiple representations that including apples in such trade agreements would be a serious blow to our industry. Our growers are already operating on thin margins, and the entry of cheaper apples from abroad would have completely destabilised the local market,” Basheer said.

He added, “This decision gives us breathing space, but we are not out of the woods yet. The same protection is needed in the India-US trade deal, which poses an even greater threat given the scale of American apple exports.”

Ghulam Nabi Wani, a fruit exporter from Anantnag, said the move was a rare example of grower interests being factored into high-level trade policy. “For decades, growers in Kashmir have felt ignored when it came to trade and tariff policies. This is perhaps the first time that a major trade pact has been signed with our concerns taken into account,” he said.

Kashmir’s apple industry supports over 3.5 million people directly and indirectly, and contributes more than 8 per cent to the region’s Gross State Value Added (GSVA). Sopore, Shopian, Pulwama, Anantnag, and Baramulla are among the valley’s most productive districts.

For now, growers in Kashmir see the exclusion of apples from the UK trade deal as a major policy success, but remain vigilant as India enters the next phase of global trade negotiations.