THE United States (US) announced that India will allow imports of US pork and pork products for the first time yesterday, welcoming the removal of an old block on US farm trade.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai made the announcement in a statement.

“This new opportunity marks the culmination of nearly two decades of work to gain market access for US pork to India – and it signals positive movement in US-India trade relations,” said Vilsack.

At the US-India Trade Policy Forum held in New Delhi in November, Tai spoke at the time about the importance of access to the Indian market for American pork.

“We will continue working with the Indian government to ensure that the US pork industry can begin shipping its high-quality products to consumers as soon as possible.”

The US was the third-largest pork producer and second-largest exporter in the world in 2020, with global sales of pork and pork products valued at US$7.7 billion (RM32.2 billion), according to USTR data.

The US exported more than US$1.6 billion worth of agricultural products to India last year. – AFP, January 11, 2022.