India’s efforts to boost falling farm exports has got a boost as Russia has agreed to drop a stringent condition which was obstructing Indian exports of dairy products to that country.
Once formalities are completed, major dairy producers like Amul and Mother Dairy will be able to take advantage of strong demand for imports in a potentially big market.
Russia turned to India for imports of dairy products in 2014 after it had banned such supplies from the EU, Australia and the US, protesting against sanctions following its annexation of Crimea.
But exports from India couldn’t take place, as Russia put a rigid condition that the dairy products be made of milk procured from a farm having at least 1,000 animals, reasoning that large dairy units must have adequate system in place to check the quality of products.
However, after a recent meeting Russia has agreed to waive that condition, as Indian officials said that most of the dairy units in India are small to mid-sized and can’t comply with the rule.
An import protocol is expected to be signed soon with Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, which will pave the way for Indian to supply Russia.