January 18, 2011

 

Indian state eyes the Indian Diaspora to promote dairy exports

 

 

As the second largest milk producer next to India's Gujarat, Karnataka is eying the large Indian Diaspora to promote dairy exports and make a mark in overseas markets with a range of ethnic sweets, from Mysore pak to peda.

 

"We are getting a lot of enquiries from countries across southeast Asia, the far East, West Asia and north Africa for our export quality milk and dairy products, as Indian expatriates living there want to savour ethnic sweets," said Chairman G. Somashekara Reddy of the state-run Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF).

 

Encouraged by the growing response from Singapore, where four containers of 18,000 litres each of milk are shipped every month, and export of skimmed milk powder in sizeable quantities to Philippines and Thailand, the federation is also in talks with dairy importers in Sri Lanka, Japan, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

 

"As our commitment is to first meet the local demand and that in the neighbouring states, we are targeting the collection of seven million litres of milk per day over the next five years from the current 4.2 million litres daily to export the surplus milk and milk-based products," Reddy said.

 

With 65% market share in the state, the federation sells around three million litres of milk per day and processes the remaining 1.2 million litres for export. For catering to new export markets, the federation this year is setting up a dedicated mega dairy in this tech hub with a capacity of one million litres per day at an estimated cost of INR90 crore (US$19 million) and an exclusive processing unit to roll out a variety of dairy products.

 

The state-run National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and the state government will have 30% equity stake each in the new plant, which will be located adjacent to the first mega dairy in the city that is catering to Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries. The federation will contribute the remaining 40% of the equity. "Cow milk is packed into a six-layered tamper proof tetrapak brick after treating it in ultra high temperature (UHT) for four seconds and then cooled to room temperature to ensure longer shelf life and maintain quality," Reddy said.

 

According to KMF marketing director Ravi Kumar Kakde, the UHT process involves heating milk for four seconds at 137 degrees Celsius in a closed, pre-sterilised system. "The high temperature boiling enables the process to kill all bacteria in the milk while preserving all its nutrients intact. The milk also undergoes a special homogenisation process to ensure its fat content (3.5%) is retained uniformly," Kakde noted.

 

The federation exports the ready-to-drink milk under its famous Nandini Good Life brand, with 180 days (six months) shelf life and needs no refrigeration until opened.

 

"As ethnic sweets and other dairy products are milk-based and hence perishable, stringent hygienic standards are maintained to ensure their flavour and quality are retained without preservatives," Kakde asserted.

 

Cheddar cheese, paneer (cottage cheese), yoghurt and cream are among 50 products processed by the federation for local and overseas markets.

 

The federation works with 13 milk producers' cooperative societies across the state, with about a million members. During June-February, the federation also supplies milk and dairy products to the Indian Army and the Border Security Force.