India keeps dairy products out of the purview of its free trade agreement (FTA) with the UAE and pledged phased reduction of tariffs on certain key farm and food items, mainly meat

India has kept sensitive dairy products out of the purview of its free trade agreement (FTA) with the UAE and pledged phased reduction of tariffs on certain key farm and food items, mainly meat, to safeguard the interests of domestic players. The details of the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) show New Delhi, which taxes bovine meat and chicken imports at 30%, will trim the duty to 27% in the first year of the FTA, followed by a phased reduction of 300 basis points each year until it reaches 15%. Buffalo meat alone contributed about $2.8 billion to India’s farm export kitty until January this fiscal. Of course, in some other meat segments where it’s not a big player, the duties will be abolished immediately. A broad range of dairy products, including milk, yogurt, butter, ghee and cheese, which typically attract duties of 30-60%, are excluded from the ambit of the agreement. The fact that New Delhi didn’t grant concession to the UAE, which isn’t a ...