Apple Farmers' Nationwide Strike on July 9

Shimla, Jun 23 (PTI) The Apple Farmers Federation of India (AFFI) on Monday said it will participate in the nationwide general strike on July 9, called by central trade unions, to highlight the demands of apple growers.

The demand of apple growers to increase import duty on apple to 100 per cent has not been accepted, AFFI's convener Mohammad Yusuf said.

Addressing the general house of AFFI and Himachal Growers Sangh, he said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi could reduce the import duty to facilitate import of US apples in the country.


The prime minister is quick on making promises but slow on delivery and the Federation has prepared the blueprint for launching decisive agitation against reducing import duty on apples, he said.

Yusuf, who is also a member of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly, said that J&K, Himachal and Uttarakhand are major apple growing states and livelihood of lakhs of people of these states depends on apple cultivation, but the assurance to fix minimum support price has not been implemented.

Prices of fertilizers, insecticides and fungicides have increased but no subsidy is being given and even the insurance scheme for apples has not been implemented in Kashmir, Yusuf told PTI Videos here.

Apple growers from three states participated in the meeting and raised their concerns. Increasing import duty on apples to 100 per cent is a long pending demand of apple growers of Himachal and also a political issue in every election.