In a move to support the local farmers from the growing Chinese competition, the government is planning to sell local apples as a 'special product' under a World Trade Organization (WTO) pact.

Justifying the government's move, Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh said that China was the world's largest producer of apples with 230 million MT as compared to the 20 million produced by India. So fears of the Chinese fruit flooding the Indian market were quite genuine.

Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh produces almost the entire apple quota of the country and the apple industry accounts for a turnover of over Rs.10 billion.