‘Fears of milk products, seeds being dumped’ : The Tribune India

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‘Fears of milk products, seeds being dumped’

Kavitha Kuruganti

What do you expect in the days ahead?

From what one hears, there will be a signing of the RCEP but of a deal that is not yet fully negotiated. The government will come under tremendous pressure due to continuing agitations within the country. It is not just farmers who are agitating against the RCEP. We are yet to see any segment that is eagerly looking forward to an RCEP being sealed. I am sure legal options can be explored too if the government chooses to go ahead.

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Let us also remember that every agreement contains provisions for withdrawal from or termination of the FTA. Agreements also have review provisions.

Is it the secret nature of the pact that has given rise to most apprehensions?

I would not say most, but yes, the secret nature of the pact has given rise to some of the apprehensions. Some apprehensions and even better understanding of what is being negotiated came from leaked texts. But we will have to remember that the apprehensions are also because of the bad experiences already felt from earlier free trade agreements like with ASEAN, Sri Lanka, etc.

Regarding seed dumping worries, why is it being presumed that Chinese companies will swamp the market despite 100% foreign companies having been unable to do so?

On the seed dumping worries, the issues are basically the following: excess seed or even grain passed off as seed will be readily dumped into India since the Chinese companies and others already have an advantage of having their counterparts being established in India after India allowed 100 per cent foreign companies.

This then is not about production by foreign companies within India, but produce that is in excess supply elsewhere, say in China. There is also the worry around plant genetic resources from India being exported for creation of new varieties and such seed being imported back into India.

The issue that the Indian seed industry is raising is around the fact that Indian companies do not have a similar advantage right now vis-à-vis China. For farmers, however, the concern is around farmers’ seed rights.

India already has a 10-year-old FTA with ASEAN, the prime source of competition in the plantations sector. Whatever changes, damage that could happen have already taken place.

The ASEAN FTA did not bring the import duties down to zero on all products. There were several different categories of commodities, including some in the excluded category. In the RCEP, it is supposed to be a deal with import duties brought down to zero on nearly all products. Further, we should remember that this is not just about the current set of producers being affected. Investments made by various commodity boards for developing domestic capacities, production, processing, etc, will also be affected.

What are the fears regarding the dairy sector?

That New Zealand and Australia, which are constantly looking for international markets because they don’t have adequate domestic markets, will dump their milk products into India. While livestock and dairying have been the growth-contributing force for farm incomes in the country, especially for the most marginalised and women farmers, our producers will not be able to compete with cheaper produce. Remember, in the FTAs, there is no discussion or scope for reduction of subsidies where agriculture is being subsidised heavily. It is only about market access.

The government claims it has sufficient safety mechanism in place like the Automatic Trigger Safeguard Mechanism.

Auto trigger mechanism will not be a protection since real-time data systems or surveillance does not exist to actually detect a surge. Further, it is a safeguard against large imports in terms of quantities, but is not about (cheaper) pricing.— Vibha Sharma