As India negotiates a bilateral trade agreement with the United States after president Donald Trump imposed reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods, the local dairy industry is concerned about the potential consequences and disruptions that could result if US dairy companies gain easy access to the country.
A Reuters report quoted Indian dairy industry leaders as saying that the US firms should not have very cheap and easy access to our markets, as it could unsettle the small and marginal dairy players. At present, India’s dairy market is protected by high import duties and non-tariff barriers.
Jayen Mehta, managing director of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF), which owns Amul, Indian’s country’s largest dairy brand, cautioned that if the US gets very cheap access to our markets, they could dump their surplus in our country, which we cannot afford.
Mehta told Reuters that India’s dairy sector feeds more than 1.4 billion people and provides livelihoods to 80 million farmers, most of whom are rural poor.
The Reuters report quotes industry officials as saying that India’s average herd size is only two to three animals per farmer, compared to hundreds in the US, which is an unfair advantage.
India accounts for nearly a quarter of global milk production, with output reaching 239 million metric tons, more than double US output of around 103 million tons. The Indian dairy industry is valued at $16.8 billion.
Former Amul official RS Sodhi, who is now president of the Indian Dairy Association, says in the same report that New Delhi had previously excluded the dairy sector from bilateral trade agreements and will continue to protect it.
According to Sodhi, there are cultural and dietary considerations, as well as cattle in the US are often given feed with animal by-products.
The report quotes a senior Indian trade official as saying that the country is resisting pressure from the US to open its dairy sector.
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Naresh Khanna – 10 February 2025
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