Apple growers in Himachal Pradesh are worried. The Centre plans to cut import duty on New Zealand apples from 50% to 25% after a trade deal. They say this will hurt their income and asked Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla to help. Kuldeep Singh Rathore, Congress MLA from Theog, led a group of growers to submit a memorandum on December 30, 2025. The growers fear the lower duty will allow cheaper New Zealand apples to flood the market. Indian apple farmers will lose market share and prices may fall. "The apple industry forms the backbone of Himachal Pradesh’s rural economy," said Rathore. He added it provides about ₹5,500 crore annually and supports more than 1.5 lakh families. Most farmers own just one to two acres on hilly land, relying heavily on apple farming. The state grows around 6.5 lakh metric tonnes of apples yearly, nearly 25% of India’s total. Rathore warned that if the free trade agreement (FTA) proceeds as planned, other big apple exporters like the U.S., Chile and Italy might demand similar duty cuts. This could cause a severe blow to Himachal's farmers. The growers also want the government to raise apple import duty back to 100% as a protective step. They called for rethinking plans to remove import duty on kiwi fruit from New Zealand too. The apple growers' plea highlights the tough challenges Indian farmers face from global trade and climate fight.