Milk powder export ban may be lifted

The ban on the export of milk powder is likely to go from September as the government is under pressure from the farmers' lobby, which has suffered the most due to the ban. According to the cooperative sector major Amul, the ban has not only failed to increase the milk supply in the domestic market but has also hurt the milk procurement prices for the farmers in rural area.

R S Sodhi, chief general manager of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which owns the Amul brand, told Business Standard that the ban was likely to be lifted by September this year. "Farmers supplying milk to the domestic market are deprived of the premium they get from exports of either skimmed milk powder or full cream milk powder," said Sodhi. On the other hand, the ban on exports has failed to enhance the domestic milk supply, said Sodhi.

The GCMMF expects a major dent in export volumes due to the ban. The federation sees the turnover jumping by almost Rs 150 crore after the ban is lifted.

It exported full cream and skimmed milk powder during last year. During 2005-06, GCMMF exported dairy products worth Rs 134.23 crore against the total turnover of Rs 3773.55 crore. This was 29 per cent higher compared with the previous year. Of the 47,334 tonnes skimmed milk powder worth Rs 420 crore exported in 2005-06, the major shippers included the Delhi-based Sterling Agro (10,000 tonnes) VRS Foods (4,000 tonnes) and Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (7,000-8,000 tonnes).