Agriculture protected: What India kept out of the New Zealand FTA

With India and New Zealand concluding the landmark free trade agreement, the Center on Monday confirmed that key agricultural and sensitive products have been kept out of the deal, a move aimed at protecting domestic farmers and vulnerable sectors even as the agreement opens broad market access for Indian exports.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the agreement as a major step forward in bilateral relations. Modi wrote on

In another post, Modi said the partnership will expand rapidly under the agreement. “The partnership between India and New Zealand will scale new heights. The FTA paves the way for doubling bilateral trade in the next five years. India welcomes investments worth over USD 20 billion from New Zealand in diverse sectors.”

What is excluded from the free trade agreement?

The Commerce Department said the agreement was “comprehensive, balanced and forward-looking,” while explaining that market access was carefully calibrated to protect farmers and local industry. According to the ministry, the FTA excludes dairy products, coffee, milk, cream, cheese, yogurt, whey, casein, onions, sugar, spices, edible oils and rubber from customs concessions.

Speaking about the agreement, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said: “Today’s FTA is about building trade around people and unlocking opportunities – for our farmers, our entrepreneurs, our students, our women and our innovators. By boosting yields and farmers’ incomes, the agreement drives modern agricultural productivity.”

While sensitive agricultural products have been excluded, New Zealand will eliminate tariffs on 100% of its tariff lines, providing duty-free access for all Indian exports. This is expected to improve the competitiveness of labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, apparel, leather, footwear, marine products, gems, jewellery, handicrafts, engineering goods and automobiles, directly supporting workers, artisans, women, youth and SMEs and integrating them deeper into global value chains.

The agreement also provides New Zealand’s most ambitious services offering in any of its FTAs ​​to date, with India securing commitments across IT and IT-enabled services, professional services, education, financial services, tourism, construction and other business services, opening new horizons for Indian service suppliers and highly skilled recruiters.

One of the main pillars of the Charter is mobility. The FTA provides enhanced entry and residence provisions for Indian professionals, students and young people, including work opportunities during studies, post-study work pathways, tailored visa arrangements and a working holiday visa framework. It also opens up skills employment pathways through a new temporary work visa, with a quota of 5,000 visas at any given time and a stay of up to three years.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the agreement would significantly expand the reach of New Zealand exporters. He said exports to India are expected to increase from US$1.1 billion to US$1.3 billion annually over the next two decades. “The agreement builds on the strong friendship between our two countries. India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and this gives New Zealand companies access to 1.4 billion Indian consumers,” he said.

The agreement also includes dedicated agri-tech action plans on kiwifruit, apples and honey, with a focus on enhancing productivity, research collaboration, quality improvement, value chain development and supporting income growth for Indian farmers through centers of excellence, agri-material improvement and technical support.