A Note on Indian Livestock Products and their Global Competitiveness

Abstract

The trade liberalization process began in India in the early 1990s and was meant to give a boost to trade by removing barriers between various countries. Because India was a signatory to the so-called Dunkel Draft, opportunities were expected to be better for Indian agricultural exports, including livestock products, because of cheap labour in the country. This paper examines export earnings from various livestock products to assess the impact of liberalization on trade in livestock products and their competitiveness. The results revealed a significant change in export earnings from various livestock products, but the growth of trade over a decade does not seem to have been significant. The failure to remove barriers to trade, along with phytosanitary standards and infrastructure bottlenecks, have been assumed to be the reasons for not achieving global competitiveness for livestock products. In order to take advantage of expanding global markets, the efficiency of production of livestock products has to be improved – together with safety and quality – which are essential in international markets.