Agricultural Trade Policy Reforms in India

This article documents and examines agricultural trade policy reforms in India over the past decade, with emphasis on both the achievements to date and challenges involved in completing the unfinished reform agenda. While the liberalization reforms during this period clearly mark a significant departure from the protectionist past, India has a long way to go in integrating its vast agricultural sector into world markets. The key impediments to further reforms are rooted in the domestic political economy. However, continuing high agricultural protection in developed countries and the considerable backpedalling of these countries from their WTO commitments also seem to weaken the position of protagonists of reforms in India.