Shimla, Dec. 29 -- Senior Congress leader, AICC spokesperson and MLA of Theog constitutency, Kuldeep Singh Rathore on Monday warned that the proposed reduction in import duty on apples from New Zealand under a proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) could deal a severe blow to the apple economy of Himachal Pradesh and jeopardise the livelihoods of lakhs of growers.

Rathore met with the State Governor, Shiv Pratap Shukla, and, through him, submitted an urgent letter on the FTA matter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The letter addressed to PM Modi had the subject, "Urgent Representation on the Adverse Impact of Proposed Reduction in Import Duty on New Zealand Apples from 50% to 25% - Request for Restoration of Protective Tariffs."

In the le...