January 27, 2011

 

India requests companies to provide SMP to Mother Dairy

 

 

India's Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar requested private companies on Tuesday (Jan 25) to supply skimmed milk powder (SMP) to Mother Dairy for improving local availability throughout the summer.

 

This was after the ministry re-evaluated the country's milk situation.

 

"They (SMP makers) are ready to give milk powder to Mother Dairy to enhance the milk supply," Pawar said after meeting with skimmed milk powder manufacturers like Hatsun Agro Products, VRS Food, Bholebaba and Modern Dairies Ltd.

 

The meeting was convened in the backdrop of high food inflation of over 15%, led by high prices of vegetables, milk, meat, fish and poultry products. Milk prices have gone up by about 20% in last one year.

 

Skimmed milk powder is stored now for use in summer season, when demand normally shoots up.

 

The minister said that the dairy industry said that there is no shortage of milk in the country as farmers are getting better price this year.

 

"We just assessed the situation of milk. They (milk producers) said they are paying better price and if they continue to pay better price, there will not be any shortage," Pawar said.

 

According to sources, the price and quantity of milk powder that SMP makers would supply to Mother Dairy will be decided in the next meeting.

 

Mother Dairy, a wholly owned company of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), markets more than 2.2 million litres of milk daily in Delhi and surrounding areas of Western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, Mumbai and Hyderabad.

 

Mother Dairy Milk has a market share of 66% in the branded sector in Delhi where it sells 2 million litres of milk daily through 10,000 retail outlets.

 

Meanwhile, the government has withdrawn duty benefits for milk products like SMP and casein with immediate effect, to augment domestic availability and curb prices.

 

Private companies are also in talks with New Zealand companies for import of SMP, according to sources.

 

The country's milk production stood at 112 million tonnes in 2009-10 fiscal year, according to the government data.