INDIA SHIELDS ‘SENSITIVE’ DAIRY SECTOR FROM NZ IMPORTS

India also places many other products in exclusion list, including animal products, vegetables

- DIPAK MONDAL @ New Delhi

INDIA has kept dairy products outside the ambit of the free trade agreement (FTA) concluded with New Zealand on Monday, ensuring that products such as milk, cream, whey, yoghurt and cheese from New Zealand will not receive duty-free access to the Indian market.

However, New Zealand exporters will be allowed duty-free access for certain dairy and other food ingredients meant exclusively for reexport under the pact.

Opening up the dairy sector has long been a politically sensitive issue in India, and the government has consistently maintained that it will not liberalise the sector at the cost of nearly 80 million domestic dairy farmers. India had adopted a similar stance in the recently concluded India-UK trade agreement, keeping dairy and agriculture outside the scope of the pact.