Shimla, May 15 -- Following Turkey's open support for Pakistan amid recent tensions between India and its neighbour, young apple growers in Himachal Pradesh are demanding an immediate ban on the import of apples from Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and China.

They called on the central government to impose a complete ban or at least raise import duties above 100% on apples from about 44 foreign countries, particularly Turkey.

Speaking to ANI, Ankit Bramta, a young apple grower from Jubbal in Shimla district, who holds an MBA and was formerly a software engineer, said, "This is the right moment to stop Turkish apples from entering India. After working in the corporate world, I switched to apple farming about five years ago. Agriculture and horticult...