India’s Trade Practices in Livestock Products

The opening up of the national economy to the international market in the era of liberalization has certainly boosted country’s trade in various livestock products. The successful GATT negotiations have provided India an opportunity to compete on a more equal footing in the global livestock trade. Nonetheless, the point that merits attention is how international prices of livestock products will react to free trade regime. Who will gain and who will lose from the possible outcome of trade liberalization is again central point of discussion. According to Baxi (1994), there would be an upward increase in the international prices of dairy products. The long term implications of this can be :(a) EC would lose markets to the US, New Zealand and Australia, (b) A significant rise in cheese export prices, (c) Effect on SMP and Butter prices would be marginal, and (d) The benefit to India through SMP exports would be gradual and modest. One of the arguments put forward by Baxi (1994) is that India will gain from the possible outcome of the changes as the EC will have to raise export prices by 15 per cent to adjust lower inward tariffs. On the whole, India needing a modest share in the world export market for various dairy products will be able to realize better prices in future. Nevertheless, such realization will be possible only when India produces and exports sufficient quantities of these valued products in the years to come.