Trump Talk : Uncle Sam To Milk India ?
BY R.K.MISRA There is an element of irony as India and Gujarat roll out the red carpet to welcome US President Donald Trump. The Narendra Modi government move to give the US access to its dairy and poultry markets may help bail out the US milk industry but is set to hurt Gujarat and consequently India the most. According to a report in 2017 India contributed 21 per cent of the world’s milk production making it the largest milk producer in the world. This was made largely possible by 73 million marginal farmers and landless labourers working in the dairy sector and possessing an average of one or two milch animals. The World Dairy Situation Report,2019 states that the US milk yield per cow is the highest in the world at 10,500 litres per cow as against 1,715 litres per cow in India which is the second lowest in the globe ,only after Pakistan. As a big-wig of the co-operative dairy sector in Gujarat put it on condition of anonymity, a trade deal with India may help