Even as the Centre is inching closer to sign a No cost Trade Arrangement (FTA) deal with the European Union (EU), India’s dairy sector has flagged some problems involving livelihood scores of Indian farmers.
The inclusion of dairy products and solutions in the FTA is feared to hamper farmers’ interests and stymie Government’s efforts to improve dairy exports from India, they claimed.
Dairy key and Amul marketer Gujarat Cooperative Milk Promoting Federation Ltd (GCMMF) has written a letter to the Union Commerce Ministry stating that opening up Indian market place for European dairies will result into subsidising elite customers at the value of Indian farmers.
“Our most important issue is that EU has export subsidy for their dairies, therefore giving double subsidy to farmers and dairies. If they enter the Indian market place beneath FTA, it will harm the Indian dairy farmers. We have written to the Union Ministry in search of to hold dairy out of the FTA negotiations,” RS Sodhi instructed BusinessLine.
In the letter dated March 22, GCMMF has reported that there is no situation to further more subsidise import of dairy products and solutions these kinds of as Skimmed Milk Powder (SMP) as it is by now allowed for import beneath Tariff Amount Quota (TRQ) of 10,000 tonnes at fifteen per cent duty against the prevailing sixty per cent.
“SMP is dried form of milk and is direct substitute of milk. That’s why it has direct impact on the milk manufactured in India,” the letter argued.
Cheese imports
On the chance of cheese imports from Europe, Sodhi stated that when its imports are allowed at 30 per cent duty with no any constraints, a majority of this is gourmet cheese assortment. “Against this, very similar products and solutions are manufactured by more than fifteen crore poor dairy farmers of India for their livelihoods. As a result, any concession in significant-close products and solutions like cheese would establish to be concession presented to elite customers at the value of poor farmers,” Sodhi reported in the letter.
Primary personal dairy player Parag Milk Meals Limited’s Chairman Devendra Shah reported the FTA go will harm dairy producers’ interests as it will result into dumping of the cheaper dairy products and solutions from Europe.
“When there would be cheaper supplies of cheese out there in the intercontinental markets, there would be a temptation for other personal gamers to source specifically from there. This will at some point harm India’s very own dairy farming,” Shah reported, including that the go wanted a reconsideration.
On the just one hand, the Govt has inspired dairy products and solutions exports with mozzarella cheese by general performance-linked incentive schemes, on the other, it has allowed duty concessions for import of cheese as a result defeating the very objective of the scheme.
India refrained from signing RCEP mainly because of a very similar danger of import of dairy products and solutions from Australia and New Zealand. “EU is 5 periods bigger producer and regulate very similar market place share in the worldwide dairy trade. That’s why, India should really entirely oppose import of any of the dairy products and solutions beneath the HS code 0401 to 0406,” he extra in the request to the Govt.