No new duty concessions for milk, milk products imports: DGFT

India has not allowed milk and milk product imports under a tariff rate quota since 2011-12 and no such imports are envisaged this year, Santosh Sarangi, director general of foreign trade said Monday.

Under TRQ, goods are charged lower import duty rates.

In the last 20 years since implementation, the import of milk and milk products under TRQ have happened only on three occasions, he said, denying reports that India has allowed such imports to curb food inflation or granted new duty concessions.



“No imports of milk and milk products under TRQ has been undertaken since 2014-15. There are no applications for TRQ for milk or milk products pending as on date. New TRQ imports is not envisaged,” he said.

These TRQs are part of India’s market access commitments in the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Agriculture as agreed in the Uruguay round.

India, the largest global importer of vegetable oils including palm oil, soyoil, and sunflower oil, and a major milk producer, has set import limits of 10,000 tonnes for milk powder, 150,000 metric tonnes for sunflower or safflower oil and refined rapeseed oil each, and 500,000 tonnes for corn.


Such imports are allowed only through cooperatives and state-owned entities including the National Dairy Development Board, the National Cooperative Dairy Federation, and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd to handle the imports.

In the past, the TRQs were applied only on specific inter-ministerial recommendations keeping in view producer and consumer interests or when a large number of importers seek to use this provision.