Chinese garlic enters India via Afghanistan despite ban, hurts MP farmers: Patwari

Bhopal, Dec 18 (PTI) Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari on Wednesday said that although Chinese garlic was banned in India 10 years back for health reasons, it is being brought into the Indian market via Afghanistan and there was no check on it.

He said farmers in Madhya Pradesh were suffering due to this influx of Chinese garlic.

Patwari held a protest at the Choithram Mandi here along with the farmers agitating against the influx of Chiese garlic at the market.

"The Centre banned Chinese garlic in 2014 on the grounds that it is not good for health. But the same thing is coming to India via Afghanistan as there is no check on it," Patwari said.

"Farmers in Madhya Pradesh, especially in western Madhya Pradesh, cultivate garlic on a large scale. But due to the arrival of this kitchen staple from China, its prices have fallen by 50 per cent. Due to this, the farmers of the state were not able to recover their cost," he said.

Thousands of farmers are protesting against it, he said, alleging that the government was not paying heed to the large-scale agitation by farmers and not giving response to their demands, the Congress leader added.

"On the one hand, the government is not offering any support price to farmers, while on the other, the smuggling of garlic from China is not being stopped. Due to this, there is a lot of disappointment among the farmers," he said.

Tarana MLA Mahesh Parmar also raised the issue of the illegal influx of Chinese garlic in the Indian market, Patwari said. PTI