India will import apples and cotton from the United States at concessional duties as part of the deal finalised with theDonald Trump administration.Union Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal, who said sensitive agriculture, dairy and horticulture segments would not be opened for the US exporters, on Saturday added that apples and cotton would be imported on quota and minimum import price-based system to protect domestic markets and growers.Goyal said India had been importing both products in large quantities since the Congress-led UPA government’s tenure, with demand now increasing further. The minister said the move would be guided by a cautious approach, ensuring that local markets remain protected.A rise in the import of apples and cotton from the US have caused concern among farmers at home, especially in the northern states that lead the production in both segments.Jammu & Kashmir produces 70 per cent of the total apples in India followed by Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.Likewise, while Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana are the top cotton-producing states in India, Haryana and Punjab are the leaders in north India.The minister said local growers need not worry as both products would be imported at a fixed minimum import price plus duty which would protect Indian farmers.“Even today we import large quantities of apples. About 6 lakh tonnes annually is imported, including from the US.What we import is at Rs 50 minimum import price plus Rs 25 extra in duty. Indian apple growers are protected by Rs 75 floor price below which apples cannot be imported. In the current deal, we have offered the US a lower apple import quota at concessional duty than what we are importing from them today,” Goyal said.The India-US trade deal puts the minimum import price for apple imports at Rs 80 plus. An additional Rs 20 duty has been finalised to take the floor price (below which no apple import can happen) to Rs 100.“Apple growers should not be worried. They have been guaranteed a fair price for the produce and protected in this deal,” said Goyal.On cotton, he added that Indian exporters depend heavily on the import of cotton raw materials to enhance exports.“We also import cotton in large quantities. Local production of extra-long staple cotton is very low. On cotton, the quota offered to the US is the same as the import volume that exists today,” Goyal said. The US is a major supplier of cotton (20 per cent of imports) to India.