Why India must not appease Trump admin with cheap chicken, meat imports
Modi government might be tempted to give in, thinking Trump can be flattered and won over with a trade deal; it may not be in the best interests of our farmers
In its eagerness to seal a trade deal with the United States and impress its fawning constituency with its special relationship with the Trump administration, one hopes India's farmers are not sold short.
With China retaliating with high tariffs on American imports, particularly agricultural, in the hope of hurting the support base of the current regime and forcing it to relent, the US will try and prise open India’s protected agricultural markets.
Also read: Tariff talks with India going great, I think we will strike a trade deal: Trump
The Narendra Modi government might be tempted to give in, thinking Trump can be flattered and won over with a trade deal though it may not be in the best interests of our farmers. The government might consider the price worth paying.
WTO agreements
Countries are not made equal. That is why special and differential treatment is allowed to developing countries under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements.
It’s another matter that these agreements cannot be enforced because the US has not allowed vacancies to be filled at the appellate body of the WTO where disputes are settled. But the principle is valid if trade is to be free and fair.
For instance, the US has been pressuring India to open its poultry market. US exports of poultry meat and products excluding eggs averaged $5.66 billion over the past three calendar years. India is not among its top 10 markets.
American consumers prefer chicken breast. The country was keen to export frozen chicken legs, which are relished here. India allows free import of chicken legs but imposes a duty of 100 per cent, which is the maximum it can levy as per its commitment to the WTO.
India’s poultry imports
India imported 1.22 lakh kg of poultry meat in 2018-19, all of it from the US, valued at $80,464. In the following nine months, it imported just 27,000 kg, worth $21,312, all of it from Brazil and none from the US, the government said in the Lok Sabha in reply to a question.
Poultry meat imports are negligible even now. In 2024-25, their import value was just $10,000.
Apart from high import duty, India requires importers of poultry meat and products to obtain a sanitary import permit (SIP) issued by the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
While no restriction on the feed can be given to birds (including animal fat), food safety rules and standards specify the temperatures for fresh, chilled and frozen meat products. Frozen products are meant to be consumed within 12 months.
Tight import regime
US' frozen poultry meat is often frozen for 4-5 years, according to an agricultural economist who has researched the issue.
The use of antibiotics is prohibited. Chicken and beef cannot also be processed at the same facility.
India had earlier banned the import of US poultry meat ostensibly to protect domestic birds against certain viruses causing bird flu. The US had successfully challenged the ban on imports in the WTO and obtained a favourable ruling.
After India lost the appeal in 2015, it implemented a tight import regime comprising high tariffs and other restrictions.
Surge in production
India’s poultry meat and egg production has grown faster than that of cereals and milk between 2001 and 2020. This has been driven by the private sector through a unique contract farming model where big players like Venkateshwara Hatcheries and Suguna Foods provide inputs including day-old chicks to farmers who contribute land, labour and supervision under an assured buyback arrangement.
Unlike Indian livestock producers who get little or no subsidy, their US counterparts get substantial support from their government.
The Environmental Working Group (EGW), a non-governmental organisation that tracks US farm subsidies, estimates that US livestock producers, including poultry farmers, received more than $7.5 billion in subsidies in 2023. This included disaster and emergency relief, subsidised insurance premium, operations assistance, loss coverage and direct purchases to lift incomes, and research assistance.
For instance, the US government purchased poultry products worth $686 million in the financial year 2024 to shore up the incomes of poultry producers. The previous year, this amounted to $507 million. EWG estimates that US livestock producers received $72 billion in subsidies between 1993 and 2023, much of it going to the dairy industry.
Also read: Vance says trade deal soon with India, calls Modi 'tough negotiator'
Domestic industry
The gross value added (GVA) of India’s poultry meat industry was Rs 1.89 lakh-crore in 2022-23. This is the value of output minus that of inputs that went into the industry.
The egg sector’s GVA was Rs 58,380 crore. Together they contributed about 11 per cent of the livestock sector’s GVA. The poultry industry employs a large number of rural people.
While imports at competitive prices can enhance consumer welfare, the country also needs a large domestic supply base to deal with vulnerabilities caused by freak weather and fickle governments like the Trump administration.
