Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has accused Jay Shah, son of BJP president Amit Shah, of importing pepper from Vietnam, which has hit local growers hard.
Addressing a Congress rally here on Friday, Mr. Siddaramaiah said: “Today, the Modi government is importing pepper from Vietnam. Do you know who is behind it? BJP president Amit Shah’s son.” He spoke about big rise in Mr. Jay Shah’s income, post demonetisation.
It may be mentioned here that pepper, produced cheaply in Vietnam, was being imported into India from Sri Lanka through duty concessions offered under the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement, leading to fall in prices of the indigenously grown pepper.
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After receiving complaints from pepper growers in different parts of Karnataka, including Kodagu, Mr. Siddaramaiah wrote to the Centre in November last year. He sought its immediate intervention to check the import of Vietnamese pepper by traders taking advantage of the SAFTA concessions.
In his letter, Mr. Siddaramaiah said “dumping” of inferior quality pepper from Vietnam had led to a crash in farm gate prices of pepper in Karnataka, which is among the largest producers in the country.
This, he said, had affected the livelihood of pepper growers in the State and could jeopardise their future.
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