After marbles, Raj traders boycott apples from Turkey

Jaipur: After marbles, Rajasthan traders have stopped import of apples from Turkey after the West Asia country decided to support Pakistan during tension with India recently. The apples, whose prices vary between Rs 200 and Rs 250 per kilogram, started arriving in March and distributed in districts, including Jaipur, Ajmer, Alwar, Bharatpur and Udaipur."Apart from various varieties of apples from Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, we also get apples from Turkey that start arriving in March, and their season continues till July. However, we have decided not to procure them as Turkey is supporting Pakistan, which backs terrorists," said Mahesh Hardasani, a wholesale dealer of fruits at Muhana Mandi in Jaipur.Hardasani said in the next couple of months, people won't be able to see apples, as from March to July, only Turkish apples come in abundance. "This is a decision we have taken, and other mandis in Ajmer, Alwar, Bharatpur and Udaipur have also decided the same. We are doing this as it was evident that Turkey supported Pakistan while India was fighting against terrorism," said Abdul Sagir, a wholesale dealer at Muhana Mandi.Ramesh Samtani, a wholesale dealer of fruits from Ajmer, said that they have appealed to local traders to ban Turkish apples. "We have enough stock in cold storage of apples from Kashmir and Himachal. We were sourcing Turkish apples from our counterparts in Delhi and Mumbai. Some traders were getting direct imports from Turkey," Samtani added.In Alwar, shops will soon start displaying posters reading "Boycott of Turkish apples," and an awareness campaign will be launched to prevent any further sales.