Govt claims agriculture, dairy sectors protected; farmers concerned

New Delhi: While India has kept sensitive sectors such as dairy, rice, wheat, meat, poultry, cereals, genetically modified foods, soya, and maize outside the ambit of its trade deal with the US, farmers' groups have expressed apprehensions about the pact.

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan insisted that the agriculture and dairy sectors would be totally protected, and that the trade deal was a big victory for Indian farmers.

However, India has allowed low-duty or zero-duty imports of Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles (DDGS), soybean oil, red sorghum for animal feed, tree nuts, and fresh and processed fruits. 

According to experts, duty cuts on some of these agricultural products will not negatively impact either the agriculture sector or the dairy sector.

India has agreed to lower or eliminate duties on a targeted list of US exports that primarily support animal husbandry and non-competing categories.

One is DDGS — a corn-based ethanol byproduct rich in protein, serving as affordable, high-quality feed for cattle, poultry, and aquaculture. The other is red sorghum (jowar), for animal feed.

Industry voices, including CLFMA of India Chairman Divya Kumar Gulati, have welcomed cheaper, safer US DDGS (with aflatoxin levels well below safety thresholds), predicting gains for poultry, dairy, and aquaculture through better feed availability and cost savings.

Then there is primarily crude soybean oil, though its effects on local soybean farmers — concentrated in states like Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan — will require monitoring.

The effective import duty on crude soybean oil is currently 16.5%. India is the world's largest importer of soybean oil, with imports reaching 47.83 lakh tonnes (valued at $5.049 billion) in 2024-25.

Soybean oil constitutes a major share of India's edible-oil imports, often ranking just behind palm oil.

Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF/Amul) Managing Director Jayen Mehta hailed the India-US trade deal as a "major win" for farmers, that noting it blocks broad access to dairy while enhancing export prospects and overall competitiveness. 

However, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) criticised the trade deal. "Maize will be sold as dried distilled grain and DDB, along with sorghum, as animal feed. US companies will completely monopolise control of the animal feed market," it said in a statement.

"The US is already exporting crops such as maize, soyabean, and cotton to India, and US wheat is being exported at Rs 18.5 per kg, which will kill Indian farmers if it is allowed to flood the Indian markets," it added.

"There will be freedom to import genetically-modified foods and seeds, which will ruin our natural fertility, apart from damaging our cereal, pulses and oilseeds markets," claimed the Morcha.