Recently, the governments of India and the United States respectively issued statements concerning the import and export of agricultural products. According to the statement, India allowed the import of US pork and related products into India for the first time; in return, the US also allowed the import of mangoes from India.According to the "Hindustan Times" reported on January 12, last year on November 23, the agricultural departments of India and the United States signed an agreement. According to the agreement, India allows the United States to export products such as cherries and pomegranates to it, and the United States allows India to export products such as mangoes and pomegranates to it. According to reports, US Trade Representative Dai Qi said on January 10 that India has agreed to allow US pork and related products to be imported into India. This is believed to remove a long-standing obstacle to U.S. agricultural trade.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the U.S. is working to ensure the pork industry can start shipping products to India as soon as possible. He noted that the deal marks the culmination of a two-decade effort to seek access to the Indian market for U.S. pork. "This means positive developments in US-India trade relations," Vilsack said.
Indian exports of pomegranate to the US are said to start in April 2022; US exports of cherries and alfalfa hay (a high quality livestock feed) to India are also said to start in April 2022.
The U.S. industry is excited about exporting pork to India. The Wisconsin State Farmer, a large agricultural state in the United States, said in an article on January 11 that India is one of the largest agricultural markets in the world, and the United States has spent nearly two decades exporting pork to India.
The U.S. Pork Producers Council (NPPC) applauded the opening of new markets, and India's huge population size has seen a huge market opportunity for the industry. In 2020, the United States was the world's third-largest pork producer and second-largest exporter, with global sales of pork and pork products worth $7.7 billion, according to the Wisconsin Farmers website. In fiscal 2021, the United States exported more than $1.6 billion worth of agricultural products to India.