Sangli grape farmers demand ban on imported raisins to protect local prices

Kolhapur: Hundreds of grape farmers from Sangli district marched to the district collector's office on Tuesday, demanding an immediate stop to the import of raisins, produced in China and Central Asian countries, through Afghanistan into India.Sangli contributes nearly 80% to India's raisin production, and the Sangli raisin also has a Geographical Indication (GI) tag because of its unique sweetness and texture. In Sangli, farmers prefer to dry grapes naturally for 20-27 days in sunlight, unlike in Nashik, where table grapes are sold.Raisin production business in Sangli, parts of Solapur and northern districts of neighbouring Karnataka is worth several thousands of crores, with lakhs of farmers, hundreds of cold storages and traders depending on it.Tuesday's protest follows searches by the office-bearers of the grape growers' association at some cold storages, where they found imported raisins marketed as Indian. The imports have led to a dip in prices of raisins produced in and around Sangli, causing losses to farmers during the annual peak period between Oct and Feb.Maruti Chavan, the vice-president of the Maharashtra Grape Growers' Association, said, "There is 30% import duty on raisins, which should be increased to 100%. China and other countries are using the Afghan route to dump their raisins in India. Govt must stop imports and take action against the traders who sell such imported raisins as Indian, since this amounts to cheating consumers."Farmers said the imported raisins have flooded markets, and prices of Sangli raisins have fallen by nearly 30-40%. "Raisin production is a costly business. Since the Covid pandemic, not one year has been profitable for the farmers. Sometimes, there is peak production, causing a decline in prices; sometimes imports like this cause losses to us," said a farmer who participated in the protest march.Raisins produced in Sangli usually fetch between Rs 250 and Rs 400 per kg. This price has slipped below Rs 200 per kg after nearly 5,000 tonnes of raisins entered India via Afghanistan. "Before Diwali, raisins were selling for more than Rs 500 per kg. After Diwali, the markets were flooded with imported raisins. Many farmers may now refrain from producing raisins. India, which is self-reliant in raisins, will then have to depend on other countries," said Chavan.