MUMBAI: The Indian government’s move to only allow apple imports via Mumbai’s Nhava Sheva port is set to seriously hamper trade
The Indian government has placed new restrictions on the country’s fast-growing apple import trade by announcing that it will only allow apples to be imported via Nhava Sheva port.
Anup Wadhawan, India’s director general of foreign trade, issued a notification announcing the change on 14 September, which takes immediate effect.
While the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry has not cited any reasons behind the decision, many industry stakeholders regard the move as a non-tariff barrier to restrict apple imports.
Apple producers in India’s key production belts of Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir have been complaining of increased competition from imported apples for some time, and they have lobbied the government to raise apple import tariffs to protect their industries.
India’s apple imports increased by more than 5 per cent in 2014 to exceed 204,000 tonnes, according to Asiafruit Congress Statistics Handbook analysis from Trade Map International/International Trade Centre data.
China accounted for some 40 per cent of import volumes, followed by Chile and the US with 25 per cent and 23 per cent shares respectively. Other key supply origins included New Zealand (6 per cent) and Europe (3 per cent). Significant volumes were also imported from nearby countries such as Iran and Afghanistan.
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