New Delhi, May 16 (IANS) In the aftermath of the horrific Pahalgam terror attack last month by a Pakistan-sponsored terrorist group, the Azadpur Mandi, which is Asia’s largest fruit and vegetable market, on Thursday, took a decision to completely halt the trade of fruits, especially apples, and vegetables coming into the country from Turkey.
Meeta Ram Kriplani, President of the Chamber of Association of Fruits and Vegetable traders at Azadpur, made this important announcement on Thursday and said that from now onwards no new orders of apples will be placed from Turkey.
“We (traders) at the Azadpur Mandi have now decided to completely stop the trade of apples from Turkey. We have supported Turkey a lot in the past… As much as 1,16,000 tonnes of apples were imported to India in 2024 but still Turkey did not support India in the recent conflict against Pakistan. From now onwards only those apples will be supplied in the country which were already ordered before after which no new imports will be made from Turkey anymore,” Kriplani added.
He said that the Azadpur Mandi always gave priority to Turkey, but recently the political stance adopted by Turkey towards India in its conflict against Pakistan has caused immense disappointment and betrayal to India and its people.
He also added, “We (India) have supported Turkey for years, but now their behaviour has hurt us a lot. For this reason we have decided that in future we will not import apples or any other fruits or vegetables from Turkey.”
Kriplani also said that he read in news some days ago that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that if the people of the country pledge to become ‘Swadeshi’ (boycott foreign goods and products and promote India-made alternatives) for 90 days then India can emerge as the second richest country in the world.
He also added that he is grateful to Prime Minister Modi and the trader community across the Azadpur Mandi to not think about profit and placing the nation’s interests above their business interests was the need of the hour.
This decision is not only important from a business point of view, but it also reflects the bitterness in India-Turkey trade relations.
This move taken by the Azadpur Mandi can also affect the fruit and vegetable supply chain across the country, especially those traders who were dependent on imports from Turkey. However, the Azadpur Mandi administration has also clarified that the import of apples and other fruits from other countries will continue so that the demand in the country is met.
Although, the military conflict between India and Pakistan has been postponed for now, but during this time this decision has been taken in view of Turkey’s stance in India’s military conflict against Pakistan.
–IANS
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