Indian agri industry sees green pastures over EU norms

New Delhi The European Union's (EU) stringent deforestation regulation would provide new opportunities for domestic agro-based industry players, as against their global competitors, as forest cover in India is increasing significantly, an official said.

While several countries in Latin America and Africa have cleared their forests for agricultural purposes, India's forest cover is increasing and there is no practice here in the country to cut forest for agri activities. The government official said these regulations provide an opportunity for "our industry because our forest cover has increased, our reserve forest is strong and it is increasing. "Our forest land is different from agri land. We can demonstrate these facts to the EU and converge to some kind of understanding on this regulation". According to a report by think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), India's exports of products like coffee, leather hides and paperboard worth $1.3 billion annually to the European Union will get impacted due to the deforestation regulation adopted by the EU. Within three weeks of introducing the carbon border tax, the EU Council on May 16, adopted the European Union Deforestation-Free Products Regulation (EU-DR).

The report has also stated that the EU-DR appears to prioritise protecting its own agricultural sector and promoting exports, making imports more difficult, as it is a trade barrier disguised as a green measure. The regulation covers cattle, buffalo, the meat of bovine animals, preparations, oil cake, soya beans, palm oil, cocoa bean, powder, chocolate, coffee, leather hide, skin, paper, paperboard, wood, wood articles, wood pulp, boards and wood furniture. According to a trade expert, as the country's forest cover continues to witness an encouraging upward trend, Indian agricultural producers find themselves in a favourable position to cater to the EU's sustainable demands without resorting to forest clearance for agricultural purposes.