India could export soya bean, groundnut and oilmeals to China if the US-China trade war persists. With Beijing raising duties on American oilmeals, Delhi is hopeful of using this price advantage to its favour, officials said.
“If this situation persists for a few days, this tariff imposition will give us a window of opportunity to export soya, soymeal, groundnut and groundnut meal to China. We will have a price advantage in the absence of the US,” said a Commerce Department official.
China has imposed additional tariff of 25% on soya bean, chemical products, and medical equipment imported from the US but reduced tariffs on many agricultural products including soya bean from its Asia Pacific Trade Agreement partners comprising India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Korea and Laos.
The industry hopes to export $100 million worth of soya bean meal to China and around $50 million of groundnut because of the two enabling factors.
“We were not competitive in soya bean meal and groundnut earlier but now there is a price advantage for us,” said Sanjiv Sawla, former Chairman of Indian Oilseeds and Produce Export Promotion Council.
However, both the industry and the Government are concerned about the non-tariff barriers that have historically slowed the pace of exports to China.
Source:- Dailyshippingtimes.com
