Seafood: India may cede share to Ecuador

Path Ahead

- SANDIP DAS

INDIA MUST REVISE downward very high import duties of agricultural commodities — including rice, seafood, poultry meat, skimmed milk powder — without impacting the domestic farm sector, trade experts said.

Experts say that the ongoing global tariff war could open new markets for Indian agri-exports. Shweta Saini, an agricultural economist, said that soybean meal exports from India could become more competitive if countries imposed stiff tariffs on the US, a major exporter of animal feed. Last month, China announced retaliatory tariffs of 15% on a range of American products, including soybean. In 2024, China accounted for half of the US' soybean exports, valued at $12.8 billion. India's rice exporters could expand the market further, taking advantage of a relatively higher duty imposed by the US on Vietnam, Thailand and Pakistan.