AApple growers have taken exception to the statement of Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada in the Rajya Sabha that “my ministry has not received any proposal for an increase in import duty on apple”.
The Union Minster stated this in a written reply to a question by BJP MP Harsh Mahajan whether the Central Government intended to increase import duty to protect apple growers of Himachal.
“We have written several letters and submitted several memorandums to the Prime Minister’s Office, the Union Ministry of Commerce and the Union Ministry of Agriculture, seeking a hike in import duty on apple since 2013.
The Union Minister’s response, therefore, is really surprising,” said Harish Chauhan, convener of the Sanyukt Kisan Manch.
Kuldeep Rathore, Congress MLA from Theog, said that the reply amounted to misinforming and misleading people. “I’ve been raising the demand for an increase in import duty on apple for a long time.
I had raised the matter in the Vidhan Sabha as well, and the government had written to the Central Government in this regard. Recently, I had written to Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to ensure there’s no reduction in import duty on US apple,” he added.
The MLA said that Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur had also written to the Commerce Minister about the growers’ concerns and interests while negotiating tariff on apple with the US
Meanwhile, Chauhan said that the Sanyukt Kisan Manch had submitted a memorandum to the President and the Prime Minister through the Governor for a hike in import duty on apple about two months ago.
“Besides, the apple growers from Kashmir have also written to the Central Government several times for an increase in import duty,” he claimed.
Lokinder Bisht, president of the Progressive Growers Association, also expressed surprise at the Union Minister’s reply.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself had promised to raise the import duty on apple when he came here to campaign in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. To say that there’s no proposal to raise import duty on apple is absurd,” he added.
Bragta in a spot
Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada said that the current import duty on apple was 50 per cent and the minimum import price (MIP) was Rs 50 per kg. Some time ago, BJP spokesperson Chetan Bragta had told mediapersons that the Central Government had increased the MIP from Rs 50 per kg to Rs 80 per kg.
The growers are now questioning on what basis the BJP spokesperson had made the announcement. Bragta, meanwhile, said that the Union Ministry of Agriculture had issued a memorandum on June 3 to increase the MIP from Rs 50 per kg to Rs 80 per kg.
“The Union Ministry of Agriculture has approved it, and the notification to this effect will be issued shortly,” said Bragta, sticking to his previous statement.
