Kerala Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, popularly known as Milma, has objected to the signing of the FTA between India and the US, saying that it would have an adverse impact on the country’s dairy sector.

India is one of the leading producers of milk in the world which is produced by small and marginal farmers and a three-tier system in the co-operative sector. When low-cost milk and dairy products enter into the domestic market following the signing of the FTA, similar products currently being produced in India will face stiff and unhealthy competition. This will push the ordinary dairy farmers into severe financial losses, said K.S. Mani, Chairman, Milma.

Many of the achievements the country attained over the decades in the dairy sector will be lost and the future of sector will be jeopardised. Till date, milk and dairy products have not been included in any of the FTA’s signed by India and therefore, it should be adhered to in this agreement as well, he said.

The agriculture and dairy sector is the main source of income for the country’s rural sector and the damage from FTA in these areas will be enormous, he added. 

The governing body meeting of the Milma Malabar Regional Union has demanded that India’s domestic market should not be opened unconditionally for the sale of milk and milk products from the US under the guise of an FTA. In a resolution, the Union urged the Union Government to withdraw from such agreements which are detrimental to the socio-economic security of the farming community.

The Chairman pointed out that the US is the world’s largest supplier of subsidies for the production of agricultural products. The FTA should not create a situation where agricultural products produced in the US can be sold freely in India’s domestic market without levying any duties. Such a situation would weaken the agriculture sector. The produce of unorganised farmers in India cannot compete with cheaper American products, thereby incurring huge losses to the farming community.

Published on July 1, 2025