Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said the Indo-US trade deal appears detrimental to Jammu and Kashmir, stating that while its benefits to the rest of the country remain unclear, the union Territory can “as of now, only see losses.”
The Chief Minister said the products expected to enter India duty-free — including almonds, walnuts, apples, fresh fruit and dry fruit — are the very commodities that are produced in Jammu and Kashmir.
“I don’t know about the benefits (of Indo-US trade deal) in the rest of the country. But for now, we are seeing only losses,” Omar told reporters after inaugurating the 11th annual agri-tech festival ‘Gongul’ at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology.
“You (Union government) are saying there will be no impact, that fruits from Jammu and Kashmir will not be sold for less than Rs 70 a kilo. But what does that mean (when you say) they will sell their good fruit and we will sell our bad ones?” he asked.
The Chief Minister said that local growers have invested heavily in improving quality and introducing new varieties in recent years.
“Our growers have invested a lot in improving their products. New varieties have come and quality has improved. Through CA (controlled-atmosphere) stores, we are now able to deliver better products to the market at the right time,” he said.
He warned that allowing high-quality imports at lower prices while local produce struggles in the market would undermine the horticulture sector.
“If you tell us that good products will come from abroad and low-priced produce should be sold from here that is a big joke with our growers. We want the best and high-value products to be sold to our people,” Omar said, adding, “I don’t see any benefit from this (deal).”
To a question on Bangladesh, Omar said after their government formation, both the countries will improve their relations, which had otherwise witnessed some bitterness.
“The more stable our neighbouring country is, the better for us. No one wants conflict or instability in neighbouring nations… Be it Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal or any other country. We want democracy to prevail and the country to remain stable,” Omar said.
“We hope that after the establishment of the government, relations between our two countries will improve,” he said.
He expressed hope that ties with Bangladesh will improve following the formation of a new government there.
“The people of Bangladesh have chosen their own government. We hope that after the establishment of the government, the relations between our two countries will improve which had otherwise witnessed some bitterness,” he added.
