India to allow import of pork, pork products from US

The announcement came just days after two governments signed a framework agreement to allow export of mango and pomegranate from India

The Central government has for the first time agreed to allow import of pork and pork-products from the United States to India.

President Joe Biden’s administration in Washington announced New Delhi’s decision, just days after two governments signed a framework agreement to allow export of mango and pomegranate from India to the United States.

The US Trade Representative, Katherine Tai, and the Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, said that the Government of India had agreed to allow import of pork and pork products from the US, removing a long-standing barrier in agricultural trade between the two nations. “India’s agreement to allow US pork imports for the first time is great news for the US producers and for Indian consumers,” said Tai.

Tai and her counterpart, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, had met in New Delhi on November 23, reviving the India-US Trade Policy Forum. She had taken up with Goyal the issue of barriers in export of the US pork and pork products to India.

“We will continue working to strengthen the US-India trade relationship and I appreciate Minister Goyal’s efforts to facilitate this important development,” said Tai.

“This new opportunity marks the culmination of nearly two decades of work to gain market access for US pork to India – and it signals positive movement in US-India trade relations,” said Vilsack. “We will continue working with the Indian government to ensure that the US pork industry can begin shipping its high-quality products to consumers as soon as possible.”

The United States was the world’s third-largest pork producer and second-largest exporter in 2020, with global sales of pork and pork products valued at $7.7 billion. The US exported more than $1.6 billion worth of agricultural products to India in the fiscal year 2021.

The Department of Agriculture and farmer’s welfare (DAC&FW) of the Government of India and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) signed a framework agreement for export of mangoes, pomegranate and pomegranate arils from India and import of cherries and Alfalfa hay from the US. Mango and pomegranate exports from India to the US is expected to start from January, February 2022 and pomegranate aril exports from April 2022. The export of Alfalfa hay and cherries from the US will begin in April 2022.

Watch latest videos by DH here: