India agrees to allow imports of US pork, its products: USTR

"The Government of India has agreed to allow imports of US pork and pork products into India, removing a long-standing barrier to US agricultural trade," the United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai and United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said in their statement on Tuesday.

Washington: New Delhi has agreed to allow imports of US pork and pork products into India for the first time, according to a statement of the United States Trade Representative.

This was announced by US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack through the statement.

"The Government of India has agreed to allow imports of US pork and pork products into India, removing a long-standing barrier to US agricultural trade," the statement, dated January 10, said.

Ambassador Tai raised the importance of access for US pork with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal during the US-India Trade Policy Forum meeting held here in November last year.

"India's agreement to allow US pork imports for the first time is great news for US producers and for Indian consumers," Tai has said.

Vilsack said this opportunity marks the culmination of nearly two decades of work to gain market access for US pork to India.

"We will continue working with the Indian government to ensure that the US pork industry can begin shipping its high-quality products to consumers as soon as possible," he added.

In 2020, the US was the world's third-largest pork producer and second-largest exporter, with global sales of pork and pork products valued at USD 7.7 billion.

In the financial year 2021, the US exported over USD 1.6 billion of agricultural products to India, the statement added.

PTI