'Industry Will Be Devastated': India’s Call To Open Up Local Market To US Agri Products Worries Farmers

The government has opened up it’s local market to American agricultural products imports such as frozen turkey, frozen duck, fresh and frozen blueberries and cranberries, among others

The government's decision to open up its domestic market to American agricultural products has raised concerns about the sustainability of the local industry among farmers and experts. In an attempt to smoothen the relationship between India and the US, the two nations agreed to solve the longest-running trade dispute last week, but domestic industry players, especially the poultry traders and experts, told ABP Live that they are apprehensive about this development. 

This move essentially meant that India opened up its local market to American agricultural products imports such as frozen turkey, frozen duck, fresh and frozen blueberries and cranberries, and dried and processed blueberries and cranberries. 

Bhartiya Kisan Union Haryana’s State President, Ravi Azad, while expressing his inhibitions about the move, said, "Our market was already suffering. Now with the reduction of tariffs on American imports, the industry will be devastated." 

Azad voiced his concerns for the future of the domestic poultry industry. He said, "The poultry industry has already been suffering since the Covid-19 pandemic, and this move will be even more detrimental to it. The government is responsible for providing a market platform to the farmer, be it for the poultry sector or any other agricultural sector. It should not have taken this decision to reduce tariffs on agricultural products imported from the US."

Devinder Sharma, food and farm expert, echoed the sentiments and added, “After India lost the dispute panel at the WTO, there was a pressure to open up. However, the government should not have given into this pressure. We have a huge poultry industry in India and to sustain it, we needed the tariffs to stay up and stop the imports from the US. This move will have a tremendous impact on our agricultural sector. If you talk to the poultry industry people in India, you will realise how apprehensive they are about the government’s decision.”

Talking about the solution, Azad said, “We demand that the government fix a minimum support price (MSP) not just for Rabi and Kharif crops, but for all agricultural products. When we demand MSP for the farmers, we demand it for all the agricultural sectors including vegetables, poultry, fruits, etc. The government needs to assure the farmers that they will get a minimum price for their produce and fix MSP across the sectors.”

Azad detailed the need for MSP and stated that based on the various government and agriculture ministry reports, “The farmers have suffered a loss of nearly Rs 55-60 lakh crore since independence due to a lack of MSP." He underlined that if the government fixes a MSP across agricultural sectors, it will ensure that farmers don’t have to throw their produce on the roads and domestic industries continue to prosper. 

Notably, on September 8, the US announced that the countries have managed to solve the last remaining of their six trade disputes filed at the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The decision was hugely welcomed and appreciated by the US government and its trade bodies.