Serving
meat, Internationally
In
response to the increasing threat of competition from other exporting
countries, Dr KR Rao and Dr D Ravindra try to herd India's livestock
products onto greener pastures
India
is blessed with vast livestock resources and this has emerged as
one of the major segments of agriculture exports. With the World
Trade Organisation (WTO) regulations in place exporting per se
is exposed to several challenges.
Post-WTO
scenario
WTO
came into existence on January 1, 1995. The primary provisions of
the Agreement on Agriculture under the WTO regime were improved
market access for international players, increased domestic support
and making export subsidies available. Market access has paved the
way for import of various products approximately to the tune of
three per cent of the total domestic consumption during 1995. Furthermore,
all non-tariff barriers are now to be replaced by tariff barriers,
which have to be reduced by 36 per cent by developed countries and
24 per cent by developing countries over a period of six and 10
years respectively. Accordingly, quantitative restrictions for 1429
items were removed by April 1, 2001. Now tariffs and anti dumping
laws exist only as instruments of protection. The commitments under
domestic support include reduction in subsidies in terms of Aggregate
Measure of Support (AMS). This is applicable only when AMS exceeds
10 per cent of the total value of any agricultural products in case
of developing countries and five per cent in case of developed countries.
India being a developing country and it’s AMS being rather negative,
there is no real obligation for reducing subsidy levels given to
farmers. In the current scenario export subsidies provided are
negligible and will not have any impact on exports of agricultural
commodities.
Significant
non-tariff agreements, which obstruct the way of export, are Sanitary
and Phyto Sanitary (SPS) measures. This regulation provides a system
for food safety and regulates animal and plant health. The agreement
recognizes that governments have the right to adopt SPS measures.
However they should not be arbitrary, unjustifiable and discriminatory.
Many developed countries are setting their health standards at level)s
higher than the internationally prescribed ones. Standards are often
being adopted without the participation of developing countries
and without taking into account the problems and constraints which
developing countries face. These challenges are to be addressed
on a priority basis to maintain our export status. Apart from SPS
measures the other two non-tariff agreements are Technical Barriers
of Trade (TBT) and Pre-shipment inspections. The objective of the
TBT is to prevent use of unfair standards, which include arbitrary
regulations like stringent quality control regarding nutritional
content, packing, labeling and test methods.
Agencies
responsible for promoting agricultural exports
Agriculture
and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda)
is the principal agency for promoting exports of agricultural products
and processed food by way of providing incentives in the shape of
subsidies or grants for creation of necessary export promotion infrastructure.
The recent step in this direction is the creation of agricultural
export zones. Apeda has identified 15 such zones in various states.
An agricultural export zone has been identified for meat exports
in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Apart from Apeda, the Export Inspection
Council of India (EIC) provides the following services:
- Certification
of the product quality in accordance with the norms and legislations
of different destinations worldwide through consignment-wise inspection
including in process quality control.
- Certification
of processing and manufacturing units based on food safety management
systems like Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) alongwith
promoting best hygiene manufacturing practices.
- Product
testing for microbiological, chemical, bio-chemical, physical
contamination, heavy metals, pesticide residues, bio-toxins, additives
- Training
of industry personnel in installation of food safety quality/
quantity/ environment management systems and meeting HACCP – International
Organization for Standardization( ISO-9000 – ISO-14000) standards
and norms.
-
Certification of preferential tariff instruments.
Export
performance of animal products
Buffalo
meat constitutes more than 84 per cent of total animal products
in quantitative terms except during 1994-95 when it stood at around
70 per cent. It is responsible for 72-84 per cent of the total value
of exports.
Product
wise performance
Buffalo
meat: In the buffalo meat category there are six types of products
– carcasses of bovine animal (fresh), meat of bovine animal with
bones (fresh), boneless meat of bovine animal (fresh), carcass of
bovine animal (frozen), meat of bovine animal with bones (frozen),
boneless meat of bovine animal (frozen).
Sheep
and goat meat: This category comprises nine types of products –
Carcass of lamb (fresh), carcass of sheep (fresh), meat of sheep
with bones (fresh), boneless meat of sheep (fresh), carcass of lamb
(frozen), carcass of sheep (frozen), meat of sheep with bones (frozen),
boneless meat of sheep (frozen) and goat meat. The table is indicative
of the fact that the fresh as well as frozen products have got an
equal demand even though the lion share belongs to frozen meat of
sheep with bones both in terms of quantity and value.
Poultry
and poultry products: This category includes chicks and live poultry
of different weights, eggs in shell, eggs not in shell (dried/ cocked),
eggs not in shell (frozen/ preserved), dried egg yolk, liquid egg
yolks and liquid eggs
Dairy
products: This category includes butter, milk, condensed milk, curdled
milk and cream, fresh cheese, milk food for babies, natural milk
products, cream with or without sugar, milk powder, processed cheese,
skimmed milk, whole milk and yoghurt, and other. Earlier skimmed
milk and milk products like butter, cream and spreads constituted
a major share of dairy products. However lately, milk powder has
also emerged as a major export favourite. Further, processed cheese
products are slowly finding their way to export markets. The recent
success of Britannia cheese in export markets is one such example.
The
potential for such products could prove to be highly restricted
if the WTO guidelines continue to be ignored and adequate private
and governmental measures are not undertaken to address the new
realities that this sector is confronting. In case of poultry, it
is expected that SPS measures from a developed country like Japan
may adversely affect our exports.
TO
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