Fonterra does not anticipate a trade deal with India will create an immediate bonanza for dairy exports.
But the dairy group thinks India could have significant potential as a market in the longer term.
New Zealand and India agreed on Friday to begin bi-lateral trade talks later this year, a process that was begun under the previous Government.
New Zealand currently sends $NZ366 million in exports to India annually: including meat, apples, wine timber, hides and skins and some dairy products.
Trade Minister Tim Groser sees the dairy industry as the biggest likely beneficiary of a trade agreement.
But Fonterra's trade policy manager Philip Turner says India is currently not a major market for New Zealand dairy products. He describes India as a very complex market.
