SHIMLA: Union Agriculture Ministry has recommended tothe Commerce Ministry to increase import duty on apple fruit crop toprotect the growers' interests. This has been done on the request of the Himachal PradeshGovernment, Minister of State for Horticulture Narinder Bragta toldreporters yesterday.
''Once the duty is enhanced, it will discourage import of appleunder the Open General Licence (OGL) list,'' Bragta said andadded that the government would try to get the fruit crop deletedfrom the list.
Taking a dig at the Congress for raising ''hue and cry'' on theinclusion of apple in the list and making it an election issue,he said the crop had in fact been brought under the OGL list duringthe Congress regime in the state UNI report.