Himachal Pradesh Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur has backed the demand of apple growers in the state to ban imports of apples from Turkey, stating that similar measures taken against Pakistan should also be applied to Turkey.
"The way Pakistani citizens were asked to leave.... a similar action should be taken for Turkey. India had helped Turkey a lot, especially when there was an earthquake there. The country behaves with us like this in the time of crisis which is extremely sad. We have helped Turkey in every manner... In this terrorist incident, their (Turkey's) drones were being used against India.... And it was also reported that their people were sitting in Pakistan to give them technical support.... If this is the truth, then the import of the Turkish apples to India should be completely stopped..." Thakur said.
Thakur’s remarks come amid rising discontent among apple growers in Himachal Pradesh, who on May 15 demanded an immediate ban on apple imports from Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and China. They urged the central government to either enforce a total ban or significantly increase import duties—preferably above 100%—on apples from around 44 countries, particularly Turkey.
Ankit Bramta, a young apple grower from Jubbal in Shimla district and a former software engineer, said “After working in the corporate world, I switched to apple farming about five years ago. Agriculture and horticulture have a future, unlike other sectors that will soon be disrupted by artificial intelligence. AI may assist, but human labour will always be essential here. I want more youth to return to farming. Given Turkey's support to Pakistan during tensions with India over Kashmir, it is clear Turkey is not our friend.”
Bramta highlighted that India imports approximately 80 lakh apple boxes from Turkey each year, contributing to a broader $10 billion trade relationship. A similar volume is imported from Iran, with peak imports occurring between October and April — coinciding with harvest season in India’s high-altitude apple belts, thus triggering intense price competition.
“India needs about 15 crore apple boxes annually. Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand produce around 12 crore boxes. The remaining three crore are imported — 60% of which come from Iran and Turkey,” Bramta explained. “If Turkey's 30% import share is banned, domestic prices will rise, benefiting farmers directly. Companies would buy more from Indian farmers. If imports drop, companies will buy more from us, improve infrastructure, and pass on the profit to us farmers.”
Farmers argue that cheaper foreign imports are undermining Indian growers, damaging the domestic apple economy. The protest movement has particularly resonated across Shimla’s apple belt, led by a new generation of educated farmers who have returned from corporate careers to agricultural roots.
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