{"id":8649,"date":"2026-01-15T18:49:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T18:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theeaglenews.co.in\/?p=8649"},"modified":"2026-01-15T18:49:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T18:49:10","slug":"cm-sukhu-demands-100-import-duty-seasonal-ban-to-protect-himachals-apple-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theeaglenews.co.in\/?p=8649","title":{"rendered":"CM Sukhu Demands 100% Import Duty, Seasonal Ban to Protect Himachal\u2019s Apple Economy.\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><h1><strong>CM Sukhu Demands 100% Import Duty, Seasonal Ban to Protect Himachal\u2019s Apple Economy.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>New Delhi:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Chief Minister<strong>\u00a0Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu<\/strong> today urged the <strong>Union Government<\/strong> to take immediate steps to protect Himachal Pradesh\u2019s apple growers from the impact of cheap foreign imports. In a meeting with <strong>Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman<\/strong>, CM Sukhu sought urgent intervention to safeguard the livelihoods of over <strong>2.5 lakh apple-growing families<\/strong> in the state.<\/p>\n<p>Advocating strongly for the interests of local orchardists, the Chief Minister proposed <strong>including apples in the \u2018Special Category\u2019<\/strong> to shield domestic growers from unfair international competition. He pressed for a <strong>seasonal ban on apple imports from July to November<\/strong>, coinciding with Himachal\u2019s peak production window, and a <strong>100 percent import duty on apples during off-season months<\/strong> to prevent dumping of foreign produce in the Indian market. Additionally, he requested that <strong>quantitative restrictions<\/strong> be imposed on apple imports to stabilize domestic prices.<\/p>\n<p>CM Sukhu highlighted that a delegation of <strong>progressive orchardists<\/strong> had met him earlier this week, raising concerns over the <strong>reduction in import duty on apples from New Zealand<\/strong>, which has negatively impacted the local apple economy. He noted that Himachal Pradesh, famously known as the <strong>\u201cApple State of India,\u201d<\/strong> generates an annual income of approximately Rs. <strong>4,500 crore<\/strong> from apple production, accounting for nearly <strong>80 percent of the state\u2019s total fruit production<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is not just about fruit; it is about the livelihood and sustenance of 2.5 lakh families and the generation of 10 lakh man-days of employment,\u201d CM Sukhu emphasized. He warned that small and marginal farmers are being pushed to the brink by trade policies that favor foreign corporations over Indian farmers.<\/p>\n<p>The Chief Minister also expressed concerns over the <strong>Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with New Zealand<\/strong>, which has led to a <strong>2.5-fold increase in apple imports over the past decade<\/strong>. He pointed out that the <strong>25 percent duty exemption for New Zealand apples between April and August<\/strong> has depressed prices for local apples stored in cold storage, severely harming the off-season trade for Himachal\u2019s growers.<\/p>\n<p>CM Sukhu called for <strong>effective measures to protect the livelihoods of small and marginal farmers<\/strong> and stressed that urgent government intervention was required to ensure the sustainability of Himachal\u2019s apple economy. While addressing the media, he also questioned the silence of the state\u2019s BJP leadership and urged them to <strong>raise the issue at the central level<\/strong> to protect the interests of Himachali farmers.<\/p>\n<p>This move by the state government reflects a concerted effort to <strong>secure economic and trade safeguards for apple growers<\/strong> while ensuring the sustainability of Himachal Pradesh\u2019s primary fruit industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CM Sukhu Demands 100% Import Duty, Seasonal Ban to Protect Himachal\u2019s Apple Economy.\u00a0 &nbsp; New Delhi: &nbsp; Chief Minister\u00a0Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today urged the Union [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" data-url=https:\/\/theeaglenews.co.in\/?p=8649><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8650,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-himachal-news","category-latest-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.9.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>CM Sukhu Demands 100% Import Duty, Seasonal Ban to Protect Himachal\u2019s Apple Economy.\u00a0 - The Eagle News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theeaglenews.co.in\/?p=8649\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CM Sukhu Demands 100% Import Duty, Seasonal Ban to Protect Himachal\u2019s Apple Economy.\u00a0 - The Eagle News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CM Sukhu Demands 100% Import Duty, Seasonal Ban to Protect Himachal\u2019s Apple Economy.\u00a0 &nbsp; 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