He said nearly 50% of dairy exports are located near India, including West Asia, North Africa, China, Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Japan and South Korea.
Some of these countries are expected to increase import tariffs on President Donald Trump on high tariffs in most countries. “We think many of these countries will turn to another dairy supplier,” Mehta said. “As the world’s largest milk producer, India has the ability to take advantage of this.”
Tariff wars and emerging trade dynamics could allow India to enter new markets, thus diversifying its export markets.
“U.S. dairy products will become expensive for countries that start retaliating by increasing import taxes in their respective countries,” said the head of India’s largest milk marketing cooperative. As of now, China has announced a retaliatory tariff on U.S. imports of 34%, while some countries say they are not satisfied with U.S. tariffs.
Even if few countries receive retaliatory tariffs, supply chain disruptions and other factors may help India’s dairy exports, industry insiders say.
“India is already on the road to becoming a world dairy product. The tariff war will only accelerate this process,” Mehta said.
However, due to longer distances, India may not be able to compete for about 50% of U.S. dairy exports. ”
