Cargill Says U.S. Imports Impact Still Unclear

Cargill India’s Country President, Ravinder Balain, says it’s too early to predict how U.S. agricultural imports — including distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) — might affect India’s livestock feed markets pending final trade deal terms between the two countries. Balain emphasised that without clarity on volumes, tariffs, quotas and safeguards, any forecast of market disruption or maize/commodity price collapse would be speculative at this stage.

Speaking at the inauguration of Cargill’s ₹300 crore dairy feed plant in Wazirabad, Punjab — its largest in South Asia with ~4 lakh tonnes annual capacity — Balain noted India currently bans direct feed imports and relies on locally sourced ingredients in cattle feed formulations. He said ingredient costs fluctuate with cropping cycles and milling activities, and that Indian feed markets adjust around supply and demand fundamentals rather than assumptions about future trade flows.

While U.S. DDGS is considered high quality with lower aflatoxin risk and competitively priced, Balain said its impact will ultimately depend on how Indian manufacturers integrate these imports (if allowed) into their formulations and whether safeguards are in place to protect domestic producers. India’s poultry and livestock markets remain complex and commodity-driven, and Cargill expects stability unless definitive policy measures are implemented.

The comments coincide with broader discussion on India–U.S. interim trade agreements, where animal-feed related items like DDGS and red sorghum may get quota-based duty concessions — raising strategic questions for domestic maize and feed sectors that currently produce the bulk of their own raw materials.

Source : DAirynews7x7 Feb 27th 2026 Read full story here

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