new delhi india is the worlds largest producer of milk but the country cannot export its surplus as indian milk does not fulfil the international food quality standard though india exports few dairy products to certain countries the liquid raw milk has so far not been able to get global market access this concern will be one of the key issues of discussions at the world dairy summit which is to be held in greater noida during september 1215 when india would showcase its dairy products and its adherence to quality norms protocol for liquid milk besides india would also try to impress upon the participants as to why the milk and dairy products should not be included in any free trade agreements fta with a country or geographical grouping there are many factors which are taken into consideration while granting market access the world organisation for animal health governs this issue and lays down protocol for export we meet those standards for certain dairy products but not for liquid milk due to issues around foot and mouth disease fmd in cattle said atul chaturvedi secretary animal husbandry and dairying while sharing details of the summithe said the country has been trying to resolve such issues and the summit will provide an opportunity to showcase indian products to global stakeholders we have a target to deal with fmd through vaccination by 2025 and make india fmd free by 2030 we have been working on it through a dedicated programme of vaccination across the country said chaturvedi the fmd is very common amongst livestock such as cows bulls buffaloes sheep and goats it is a highly contagious viral disease that deeply affects the production of livestock this disease has a direct negative impact on the trade of milk and other livestock productsdairy is the single largest agricultural commodity contributing 5 of the national economy and employing more than 8 crore farmers directly in india the country being the worlds largest milk producer contributes 23 of global milk production milk production in india has grown at a compound annual growth rate of about 62 to reach 210 million tonnes in 202021 from 146 million tonnes in 201415approximately 1500 dairy sector stakeholders from over 40 milkproducing countries are expected to attend the summit which will be held in india after a gap of 48 years dairy for nutrition and livelihood will be the theme of the summit which will be organised by the international dairy federation idf in association with indias national dairy development board nddb responding to a question on fta during a press conference on the summit junior animal husbandry and dairying minister sanjeev kumar balyan said our ministry wants that milk and dairy products should not be included in the fta on the issue of increasing input cost of milk production the minister said though the milk prices should rise for the benefit of dairy farmers there is also a need to protect consumers interestthe world dairy summit is considered