Total butter exports in 2020 are expected to rise from 50,000 MT in 2019 to 55,000 MT, due to modest
demand from traditional and new buyers. Trade data from Jan-Oct 2019 indicate total sales at 39,700 MT,
at estimated value of $168 million. Principal buyers include Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Australia and the
United States of America.
Imports
India’s major dairy product imports include milk powder, fats and oils, casein, butter, whey, cheese, and
lactose. Post forecasts negligible imports of NFDM and butter in 2020 due to growing domestic
production. Historically, India has only imported milk powder and butter in limited quantities when it was
apparent that domestic production was insufficient or to help control inflation. Trade data for Jan-Oct
2019 shows the combined import of NFDM and butter will be close to 1000 MT with value just over $4
million. In 2018, both NFDM and butter imports for 2018 fell for the third-consecutive year to a little less
than 1000 MT, valued at $3.4 million.
India’s veterinary health certificate requirements currently restrict dairy imports from the United States of
America. India continues to insist on religious and cultural grounds that dairy products be derived from
animals which have never received any feed produced from internal organs, blood meal, and tissues of
ruminant origin.
Trade Policy
Currently, several trade restrictions limit market access for U.S. food products. Imports of most
livestock and livestock-derived food products (including milk and milk products) were effectively
banned due to established Indian import requirements (India Exporter Guide: IN2019-0105).
On November 28, 2019, FSSAI published a notification on ‘revised’ standards of milk and milk
products in the Official Gazette of India. The implementation date is July 1, 2020 (More info at
IN2019-0102). FSSAI promulgated the draft standards of milk and dairy products notified earlier to
the World Trade Organization (WTO) in December 2015 for comments. The regulation came into
effect on October 13, 2017 (GAIN IN7129)
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. The Food Safety and Standards Regulation is applicable
equally to both domestic and imported foods. Some labelling and compliance issues that came up
between now and then were reported (GAIN IN-9009).
The import of milk and dairy products into India requires a sanitary import permit
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from DAHD and
a veterinary health certificate from the exporting country’s veterinary authority. India’s import
certification requirements for milk and dairy products are available on the DAHD website
(http://dahd.nic.in/trade). India applies in-quota tariff rate (TRQ) of 15 percent for imports of NFDM
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Milk, flavored milk, evaporated or concentrated milk, sweetened condensed milk, khoya, cream and malai, milk fats including
anhydrous milk fat, anhydrous butter oil, butter oil and ghee, butter, milk powder and cream powder, dairy whitener, whey
powder, fermented milk products, ice-cream, kulfi, chocolate ice cream, soft ice cream, milk ice or milk lolly, dried ice cream
mix, frozen dessert or confections, chhana and paneer, cheese and cheese products, edible casein products, lactose, and infant
foods (GAIN IN7129)
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http://dadf.gov.in/sites/default/filess/SIP-Validity0001.pdf