The Indian government is set to reassess its import tariff policy on apples, aiming to shield domestic producers as concerns grow over rising apple imports from countries like the U.S. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced that authorities will adjust duties upward, making foreign apples more expensive to boost demand for India-grown fruit. During an event in Jammu & Kashmir, a major apple-producing region, he highlighted plans to direct research initiatives via ICAR to enhance domestic yields, and explore logistics improvements in partnership with the Railway Ministry to ensure better distribution across India.

By imposing a 50% tariff on U.S. apple imports—a rate deliberately maintained high—the government is aiming to support 97% of the domestic crop coming from Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, which together produce roughly 2.4–2.5 million tonnes annually . Apple growers’ groups have raised alarms that U.S. and other foreign apples, accounting for 22.5% of India’s apple consumption, are increasingly threatening the livelihoods of 800,000 farming households.

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