America is trying to completely destroy the apple economy of Himachal : Kuldeep Rathore

All India Congress Committee spokesperson and Theog MLA Kuldeep Singh Rathore has said that America is trying to completely destroy the apple economy of the state worth Rs 5000 crore. He has alleged that the policies of US President Donald Trump are completely anti-India.
Addressing a press conference here today, Kuldeep Rathore said that President Trump is a businessman and always thinks about business and talks about the same. He said that the recent trade talks going on between India and America are clearly indicating that a lot of pressure is being exerted to reduce the tariff on imported American apples, especially the Red Delicious variety, which will be in direct competition with Himachal’s apples. He said that the current import duty is 50 percent right now and if it is reduced further then it will be a big blow to the apple economy of the state and it will be a big injustice to the apple growers of Himachal.
Rathore has written a letter to the country’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in this regard, making him aware of the concerns of the apple producers of the state and said that the apple industry in Himachal is the foundation of the state’s economy, which contributes about five thousand crores annually. More than 1.5 lakh families are directly associated with this industry. The state produces about 6.5 lakh metric tons of apples annually, which is about 25 percent of India’s. On the other hand, the large-scale mechanized production of American apple Red Delicious benefits from adequate government subsidy. Its cost is also low, whereas the price of apple production in the state is much higher than that of American apples.
Rathore has also sent a copy of this letter to all the seven BJP MPs of the state and has urged them to raise this issue strongly before the Prime Minister and the Commerce Minister. He has said that India needs a lot of collective efforts to prevent pressure from any foreign country to protect the interests of the apple growers of the state. He has said that the apple growers of Himachal Pradesh are not only farmers, they are the protectors of the economy and cultural heritage of our state, whose protection is very important.