<p></p><p>PULWOM- KASHMIR-INDIA -SEPTEMBER 16: A Kashmiri cleans walnuts after removing their green husks on, September 16, 2015 in Pulwom, 40 km (24 miles) south of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian controlled Kashmir, India. Many locals involved in the walnut industry are disappointed as the dry fruit business of walnut in Kashmir is facing immense challenge after India has allowed its imports from other countries. This has squeezed the domestic market of Kashmir walnuts across India with growers saying that the crop is getting low returns from this crop. Traders here say the demand was good in the world markets initially, however, now there are virtually no orders especially from traditionally importing countries in Europe, America and the Gulf. The walnut industry has also found a strong rival in the US, which has not only become self-sufficient but also exports the produce at cheaper rates to other nations that were earlier importing from India. Kashmiri walnuts, known for superior quality, are exported to many regions including the west. Kashmir produces 90 percent of the total walnut in India and they have been immensely popular across India and abroad as the products is organic. However with imports growers say that there is no demand for their product. Walnuts harvesting is highly labor intensive and almost all the processing is carried manually. The workers involved in the initial harvesting say that with low returns on this product has also dwindled their wages too. <br></p> <p>Many locals in the Kashmir walnut industry are struggling as the dry fruit buiness faces immense challenges after India has begun importing the nuts from other countries.Traders say demand in the world markets was initially high, though now there are virtually no orders- especially from traditionally importing countries in Europe, America and the Gulf. The walnut industry has also found a strong rival in the U.S., which has not only become self-sufficient but also exports the produce at cheaper rates to other nations that were earlier importing from India.Walnuts harvesting is highly labor intensive, as almost all of the processing is carried manually. Harvesters say that with low returns, the Kashmiri walnuts, though known for superior quality, have caused a severe dwindling in their wages.<br></p><p></p>