Bangladesh move hiking assessment value by 40% leaves Kashmiri fruit growers worried  

Bangladesh has increased the assessment value of the Kashmiri apple by around 40% to discourage imports.

Following which, the final duty levied on the fruit has gone up markedly, reports Greater Kashmir, a Srinagar, India, based English newspaper. 

Bangladesh is the biggest export market of Kashmiri apples and the assessment value hike has left the growers very worried.

Apple growers across Kashmir have urged their government to intervene in the matter.

President Kashmir Fruit Growers and Dealers Association, Fruit Mandi Sopore, Fayaz Ahmad Malik called this development a huge setback for the fruit industry.

"The duty levied by the Bangladesh government on Kashmiri apple is huge. 

"Being the biggest export market of Kashmiri apple, the duty hike has started bleeding the growers," he was quoted as saying by the Greater Kashmir.

Malik urged both the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and federal administration to intervene in the matter.

He said that they had appraised Director Horticulture about the issue and soon a team of the association would visit Delhi and take up the issue with the concerned minister.

"We will visit Delhi soon and seek the intervention of the government in the matter," Malik added.

As per the J&K Department of Horticulture Planning and Marketing, India -- Bangladesh imports over 12,000 metric tonnes of apples from Kashmir on average.