Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan said that India would prioritize the protecting the interests of its farmers by assessing the possible profit and loss in the ongoing business talks with the US. Chauhan said in an interview, “Our priority is to protect the interests of our farmers. India will not work blindly. We will assess our profit and loss. The agreement will be finalized keeping this in mind.” They were answering a question about how India would protect farmers amid pressure for more market access to American agriculture and horticulture products.
Negotiations are going on on trade deal
The negotiaters may agree to the blueprint for the widespread outline of the first phase of the bilateral deal, which is expected to be signed by the autumn (September-October) of 2025. The minister said, “Discussion is going on between India and America. One thing is clear, we will protect the interests of our farmers. When we talk about two countries, we need to look at the overall trade.” According to the NITI Aayog report ‘promoting Indo-US Agricultural Trade under the new American trade system’, the value of US agriculture and allied product exports to India in the trial period ended in 2024 was around $ 2.22 billion. In the same period, India exported agricultural products worth $ 5.75 billion to the US.
It is important to see the interests of farmers in the deal
India’s main agricultural exports to the US include frozen shrimp, basmati rice, spices, processed grains and other price -added products. The US wants to export more agricultural products such as maize, soybean and animal food, but is facing high fees from India, especially in agriculture, where the average fee can reach 39–50 percent. The minister’s comment comes at a time when India and the United States continue negotiating on the expansion of agricultural trade, seeking low fees and better market access to its agricultural products in the Indian market. India is cautious to openly open its agriculture and dairy markets due to the concern of potential response from rural communities and the need to protect domestic producers from global value volatility.
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