No tariff cuts on dairy in any FTA, Goyal says

India has no plans to extend duty concession on dairy products under any free trade agreement (FTA), commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said.

Goyal was speaking at the 19th India-Australia joint ministerial commission meeting in Adelaide.

Both countries have set a target of achieving $100 billion in trade by 2030.

India has yet to offer duty concessions in the dairy sector to Switzerland and Norway under the European Free Trade Association trade pact, signed in March this year, Goyal said, adding that “the (dairy) sector was discussed, but India clearly conveyed the sensitivities involved in this area.”

“On average, the holding with the farmer is small. It is a 2-3 acre farm with 3-4 livestock, whereas Australia’s farms and dairy farms are very large, and it would be near impossible for these large and small farms to compete on a common footing,” he said.

“Dairy is such a sensitive sector that in any of our FTAs across the world, we have not been able to open up the sector with duty concessions,” Goyal told the media at a joint press conference with Australian trade minister Don Farrell.

Goyal also flagged outstanding issues in the bilateral Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement signed in December 2022, and expressed the need for early progress, including the timely conclusion of mutual recognition agreements in services and organics, amongst other things.

Goyal, who led the Indian delegation to Adelaide to promote trade and investments, announced the opening of an investment, trade, technology, and tourism office in Sydney.