India’s Poultry Traders Unhappy With Govt’s Decision To Open Up Domestic Market To American Agri Products

New Delhi, Sept 13 (KNN) The Indian 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, according to a report in the ABP Live.

As per reports, the poultry traders and experts are most 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." 

Voicing his concerns about 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."

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.”

He detailed the need for MSP and stated that based on the various government and agriculture ministry reports. 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. 

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).  (KNN Bureau)