India and Israel today entered into an agreement to set up a centre of excellence to boost the dairy sector in Haryan at an investment of Rs 15 crore.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on this was signed today between the Haryana Government and Israel's international development agency MASHAV.

This centre of excellence is aimed at training Haryana farmers about Israel's technology on raising the productivity of dairy sector in India, the world's largest milk producer.

The MoU is part of the joint agreement on agriculture co-operation signed between the two countries.

Already, 9 such centre of excellence are operational in India and 19 others are being set up to promote fruits and vegetables. This is the first time Israel is partnering with India in dairy sector.

"Haryana is aiming to enhance its per capita availability of milk with the help of Israeli techniques. I hope with this collaboration Haryana would emerge as the top milk producing state in the country..," State Agriculture Minister O P Dhankar told reporters after signing of the agreement here.

Haryana is currently at third position in milk production in the country after Gujarat and Punjab.

A feasibility study for the proposed centre has already been conducted by Israeli experts. It would be established in the already existing State Cattle Breeding Project at Hisar.

"Field of agriculture is one of the main fields of cooperation between India and Israel..In Haryana we have our flagship centre of excellence in horticulture and we hope same will be the case in dairy sector..," Israel's Deputy Chief of Mission Yahel Vilan said.

The major objective of the proposed centre would be to establish a model dairy farm with Israel's cost-effective and innovative dairy technologies accustomed to local conditions for achieving an intensive dairy production system of global standards.

"Being a model demonstration unit for the farmers in the country, the centre would help to motivate livestock owners and entrepreneurs to adopt newer, economically beneficial technologies," Dhankar added.

The centre would be 100 per cent sponsored by the Indian government, through Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY). It will have customised modern dairy sheds for 110 cows with a potential of expending it to 300 cows, calves barnes, feed centre, milking parlour, mini dairy plant and waste water treatment plant.

According to the agreement, the centre would import frozen semen and also directly transferable sexed frozen embryos from Israel.

It would also have a mini dairy plant for on-site production of value added products to enhance economic returns, which would be an integral part of the project.

Faced with a large shortage of dairy items after the European Union's decision not to export to it, Russia is expected to open the doors to Indian imports. A team of Russia’s phytosanitary watchdog, Rosselkhoznadzor, had visited India between October 27 and November 8 and inspected dairy plants (including those making cheese) interested in exporting their products to Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

The delegation inspected facilities that supply corresponding raw materials and other organisations involved in the production and control of the corresponding regulated goods produced at the inspected plants. According to trade sources, the team showed satisfaction over the manufacturing practices adopted by Indian dairy plants.

“We are still awaiting reports from the Russian authority (Rosselkhoznadzor) for the inspection carried out on Indian plants in November. They were very positive towards India,” said Santosh Sarangi, chairman of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda).

Indian producers indirectly export milk products to Russia through various European countries. That route is closing now as EU nations are now not exporting to Russia due to sanctions imposed by the Western world.

Trade sources say Sergey Dankvert, head of Rosselkhoznadzor, and Apeda Chairman Sarangi have agreed to complete the Russian requirements to adhere to quarantine and other certification issues in two months ending December.

Russia’s annual dairy product import requirements are estimated at above 5,000 million tonnes. The country used to purchase around half of its dry milk and cheese requirements from the constituents of former Soviet Republic and Finland. Russia has imposed a one-year ban targeting all meat, fish, dairy, fruit and vegetables from the European Union, the United States, Canada, Norway and Australia, in retaliation at western economic sanctions over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis.

Data compiled by the European Commission show European Union dairy exports to Russia were worth 2.3 billion euros ($3 billion) in 2013. Cheese accounted for almost half.

“This offers a huge opportunity for Indian dairy exporters. If opened, India can get a huge benefit of the supply shortage faced by Russia,” said Ajay Sahai, Director General of the Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO).
 

Meanwhile, the EU has offered huge incentives to compensate the losses suffered due to the ban on dairy imports from Russia.

The European Commission has announced that it will open private storage aid for butter, skimmed milk powder (SMP) and certain types of cheese in order to alleviate the impact of Russian restrictions on imports of EU dairy products and to limit the negative effects on the internal market.

India now has indisputably the world's biggest dairy industry — at least in terms of milk production; last year India produced close to 100 million tonnes of milk, 15 per cent more than the US and three times as much as the much-heralded new growth champion, China.

The dairy sector in India has shown remarkable development in the past decade. India's export of dairy products stood at 159,228.52 tonnes to the world for Rs 3,318.53 crore during the year 2013-14. India’s major dairy product export destinations  include Bangladesh, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Yemen and Pakistan.

Dairy exports during the current financial year are set to touch a new high, with shipments of skimmed milk powder (SMP) doubling over last year.

A drought in New Zealand early last year had fuelled demand for Indian SMP, mainly from the developing markets.
Rising rupee

Till February-end this fiscal, SMP shipments stood at 1.22 lakh tonnes, nearly twice the 63,762 tonnes exported during the same time a year ago, official sources said.

However, shipments have now slowed down, with Indian SMP turning unviable in the export market due to the recent decline in global prices and the rupee appreciating against the dollar.
The Amul story

“The domestic market is better now, as prices have moved up. We are getting a price of ?280-290 a kg in the local market, against export realisations of about ?260 a kg,” said RS Sodhi, Managing Director of Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which owns the Amul brand.

GCMMF has seen a five-fold rise in its SMP shipments in the current financial year, with exports of 20,000 tonnes in the current financial year, the highest so far, Sodhi said.

In the last financial year, Amul shipped out about 4,000 tonnes, after the Government opened up SMP exports in June 2012.

GCMMF, which initially targeted an export turnover of ?350 crore for the current year, expects to close this fiscal with revenue of ?500 crore from overseas, Sodhi added.
Improved prices

RS Khanna, an expert in the sector, feels the value of Indian dairy exports for the current financial year could touch ?5,000 crore. This has been driven by a strong growth in shipments of SMP and improved prices.

Besides, demand from traditional markets, such as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, Indian shipments also got a boost from the product contamination scare faced by Fonterra, the world’s largest exporter.

According to APEDA, exports of dairy products during April-December stood at ?2,618.72 crore, up 162 per cent over ?996.86 crore a year ago.

“The party is over for the Indian SMP exports. The surplus stocks that were built up in the past couple of years have been exhausted and the domestic prices are attractive,” said Sandeep Agarwal, Director at SMC Foods, which exported about 1,000 tonnes in the current year.

Russia would commence the import of egg powder from India about a month from now (or perhaps sooner), owing to the increase in the demand for it. Rosselkhoznadzor, Russia’s agricultural watchdog, confirmed the development.

India, the world’s third largest producer of eggs, currently exports table eggs, egg white powder and egg yolk powder to about 30 countries, and had been in talks with the government of Russia to facilitate their export.

However, Russia’s strict animal health norms became a stumbling block for the export of egg powder (which is used by Russian food manufacturers as an ingredient in confectionery, semi-finished meat products and mayonnaise) by India.

Indian products cheaper
Indian egg powder is comparatively cheaper than the product made in Russia - where the rising costs of poultry feed are having an adverse impact on its economy - or imported from countries like Argentina.

The Russian media has, in fact, criticised the decision to open the market to Indian imports, stating that the local makers wouldn’t be able to compete with Indian prices and could be wiped out. Nevertheless, Rosselkhoznador has decided to go ahead with it.

Indian poultry body confident
A K Sharma, a Poultry Federation of India member, stated that India could export high-quality egg powder to Russia, but to do so consistently, they would have to maintain the price line.

“We are confident about exporting our products to any country in the world, as they are of a high quality. We would not only fetch the best price, but also be able to contribute significantly to the growth of the Indian economy,” he added.

 The National Seminar on Enhancing Productivity and Food Safety of the Dairy Sector is slated to take place at New Delhi’s India International Centre on March 13, 2014. It would be organised by the National Productivity Council (NPC).

The objectives of the one-day seminar are as follows:

    Evaluating productivity and food safety issues confronting the industry to make its products internationally acceptable, and developing sustainable response strategies;
    Reflecting upon the immediate concerns and the imminent challenges faced by the dairy processing sector;
    Enabling the Indian dairy processing industry to set its productivity norms quality agenda and internalise them to promote safety and quality, and
    Generating policy inputs for the government to formulate proactive strategies to enhance competitiveness of the sector
    The deliberations at the seminar would cover the following topics:
    Role of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in ensuring food safety and quality of Indian food products;
    Technological bottlenecks to maintain the quality to ensure food safety;
    Issues impeding the implementation of quality standards in dairy processing sector;
    Consequences of stringent food safety and quality standards for international trade;
    Understanding traceability and its implementation in Indian conditions;
    Role of regulatory and accreditation bodies in building consumer confidence in Indian dairy products in the international market;
    Issues and challenges for export of Indian dairy products;
    Strategies to become globally competitive, and
    International regulatory requirements and challenges for the Indian dairy processing sector


The following people would participate in it: Senior level functionaries of Central/state animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries department, the Ministries of Agriculture and Food Processing Industries; the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB); the National Cooperative Dairy Federation of India; the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI); dairy plants, milk unions and state dairy federations; the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA); the Quality Council of India (QCI); the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI); the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD); the Export Promotion Council; quality standards certification agencies; the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) institutions; state agricultural universities; dairy science colleges; equipment and machinery manufacturers; testing laboratory financial institutions; cattle feed manufacturers and dairy farmers’ associations.

The dairy sector is likely witness positive growth next fiscal, increase in market size and milk production and strong rise in exports, according to India Ratings & Research (Ind-Ra).

Ind-Ra assigned a positive outlook to the dairy sector for FY'15.

There is likely to be reasonable growth in the sector's market size and milk production and strong growth in dairy products exports, Ind-Ra said in a report here.

India's milk sector is regarded as one of the world's fastest growing market and the agency expects it to expand by 16.3 per cent in FY'15.

The positive outlook also stems from increasing the government's initiatives on improving rural income.

The agency also assigned a stable outlook to the dairy cooperatives (DCs) for FY'15 due to their stable financial performance although with some liquidity issues.

On the back of likely favourable monsoons and strengthening farmer base of the cooperative model, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) expects 5.47 per cent year-on- year growth in milk production in FY'15.

Export opportunities, it said, have opened up as milk production is higher than domestic demand.

Milk surplus and low production cost coupled with rupee depreciation augur well for exports.

How about mixing your staple buffalo milk with milk from cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats and camels to get the right amount of nutrients? Experts at Progressive Punjab Agriculture Summit being organized at Chappar Chiri pointed out the need for value addition to milk, eggs and meat.

For example, buffalo milk contains more calcium (58%), more protein (40%), and less cholesterol (43%) as compared to cow milk. There are higher mineral and vitamin content of goat and sheep milk than in cow milk; there is effectiveness of camel milk in diabetes management.

Vice-chancellor V K Taneja of Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Science University, Ludhiana, tried to convince dairy farmers that certain compounds present in camel milk proteins have insulin-like effect and camel milk supplementation reduces insulin requirement in type-1 diabetic patients.

"Substantial research studies and advanced compositional identification of a large number of bioactive compounds in milk from these rare species for beneficial effects on human health are required to be studied scientifically," he said.

For proper processing of these high value dairy products, there is need for development of low cost and energy efficient indigenous machines - mozzarella cheese ball making, low cost indigenous machine development for small scale production of traditional dairy products like paneer, pinni and improved packaging of indigenous dairy products to improve shelf life and quality parameters.

Experts said that the state government takes steps for adopting an extension model in animal husbandry. This would include introduction of contract farming which involves providing services and inputs and collecting produce has demonstrated its strength and should be replicated in all parts of the state and country, group of villages should be adopted for transfer of knowledge, technologies, inputs and services for optimum exploitation of resources and helping in creation of self-help groups, especially women groups.

It’s a problem of plenty for companies in the milk and milk products segment. As export of skimmed milk powder is losing sheen, they now have excess supply. As a result, private milk powder exporters have cut capacity, and milk procurement for dairies is rising.

However, higher costs of fodder and animal feed are weighing heavy, and some dairy majors are considering a rise in milk prices.

While the Centre lifted the ban on exporting skimmed milk powder (SMP) in June, low prices in the global market are acting as a deterrent for exporters.
 

Experts say the industry has skimmed milk powder inventory of about 1,50,000 tonnes. Speaking to Business Standard, a senior official at MILKFED Punjab, the cooperative milk producers’ federation in Punjab, said, “International export prices are not conducive to exports. The prevailing rate is Rs 135-140 per kg($ 2.7 a kg). This is quite low, compared with the input cost of Rs 160-170 per kg. He added, “Yet, we are not able to export the material at a stretch.”

MILKFED processes about 9,00,000 litres of its popular brand Verka a day. In August, Verka’s price was raised by Re 1 a litre in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

Several dairies such as Mother Dairy and Amul, have seen a 15-25 per cent rise in milk procurement, as private SMP companies are operating below their capacity levels to clear inventories. Also, an increase of about 20 per cent in fodder costs in the last few months, owing to a drought-like situation in various parts of the country, and the rising animal feed cost are exerting pressure on milk producers.

Mother Dairy, a prominent company in the National Capital Region (NCR), is reviewing the situation.

A Mother Dairy spokesperson said, “ In NCR, which accounts for a significant portion of our sales, we have not carried out a price increase for the last twelve months. We have been absorbing various cost pushes. We will review the situation and take a decision soon.” The company had last revised prices on September 11, 2011.

Experts said on an average, last year, milk federations and private companies increased milk prices by Rs 5-6 a litre. The increase in prices led to farmers undertaking dairy farming, making it a remunerative business. As a result, every milk federation is recording a rise of 15-25 per cent in procurement. However, farmers feel “they should be paid at least Rs 3-4 per litre more, owing to high fodder and feed costs,” said Progressive Dairy Farmers Association President Daljit Singh Sadarpura.

Amul, the largest company in the segment, is, however, in a comfortable position. “The domestic market is better than the export market (for us). We command brand premium. In the last one week, export prices have risen six to seven per cent ($3000 last week, compared with $3,200 now). However, it still has a long way to go. I am optimistic about exports in the coming months,” said R S Sodhi, managing director, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, which markets the Amul brand of products. Amul is considered India’s largest SMP exporter.

Sodhi said despite the rise in milk procurement, the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation didn’t plan to raise milk prices. It had last raised prices in April. He added the availability of fodder had improved, owing to good rains in Gujarat last week.

A senior official of the Karnataka Milk Federation agreed. “Last year, there was scarcity of milk, and SMP prices in February 2011 stood at Rs 200 a kg. Due to the paucity of milk, several federations like those in Bihar, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh bought SMP…Now, SMP prices have come down drastically compared to last year. We have about 10,000 tonnes of SMP in our inventory. We floated the tender for sale thrice, but could not get attractive price. So, we cancelled it. With a ban on export, inventories piled up and every player wished to generate cash revenue by selling SMP. Even private players have stopped accepting milk, which has resulted in an increase of 15-25 per cent in milk procurement by state cooperatives and federations.”

In Karnataka, milk cooperatives increased price by Rs 3 a litre across all categories in January. They don’t have any immediate plan to raise prices this year, said a senior official of the Karnataka Milk Federation.

Sangam Dairy run by the milk producers’ cooperative in Guntur, has sought the Government’s permission to export its value-added products to the Gulf countries. The dairy, which registered a turnover of Rs 320 crore in 2011-12, said it is planning to come out with an ice cream product this year.

The co-operative has appointed a consultant to help it prepare a plan for this expansion in business, Dhulipalla Narendra Kumar, Chairman of the cooperative dairy, said.

Addressing reporters here on Wednesday, he said the co-operative had formed groups with some farmers and supplied them quality animals from Haryana. “These animals would give them additional yields. We will bear the cost and deduct from the monthly payments,” he said.

The dairy has 600 milk co-operative societies with a combined capacity of three lakh litres day.

On Monday, N. Chandrababu Naidu, former Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party President, has launched ‘Sangam Extra Life’ in 200 ml Tetra Pak pouches. The dairy built a production capacity of 40,000 litres a day for this initiative.

Currently restricted to Guntur, Hyderabad and a few other districts, the dairy is hoping to expand its presence across the State. “With the new value-added products and expanded reach, we are targeting to achieve a turnover of Rs 600 crore in the next three years,” Narendra said.

Prof. Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister today inaugurated Rs. 8 crore Milk Powder Plant having capacity of 5 metric tonne at Duttnagar in Shimla district. This will benefit more than 50,000 milk producers of Shimla, Kullu and Mandi district and will play significant role to bring white revolution in Himachal Pradesh.

Reiterating his Government’s resolve for balanced and speedy development of all areas of the State, Prof. Prem Kumar Dhumal said that Rampur area and adjoining areas were producing milk but were not getting remunerative prices so far. He said that keeping in view this, the present State Government had started work on this plant in the year 2009 and completed in a record time by taking up its construction work on war footing. He had a dig on those who become benefactor of people of the area but had not done anything for them. He said that during Congress regime procurement price of milk had been increased Rs. 2 only whereas the present State Government during last four years had increased upto Rs. 7 per litre.

Chief Minister said that Rs. 300 crore ambitious Doodh Ganga Scheme aimed at strengthening the economy of the milk producers in the State and added that for purchase of milch cattle and milk related activities subsidy upto 33 percent was being given to those interested in it.

Prof. Dhumal said that emphasis had also been given to strengthen the infrastructure in the State. He said that all villages were being connected by road. Referring to Rampur area, he said that Rs. 60.50 crore were being spent on construction of roads and bridges in the area. He said that out of 48 panchayats 44 had been provided facility of roads besides 109 villages out of 136. He said that remaining panchayats and villages in the areas would also be provided this facility soon.

Chief Minister said that to benefit the farmers of the State, Government had started various schemes like Rs. 353 crore Pandit Deen Dayal Kisan Baagwan Samridhi Yojna, Rs. 300 crore Doodha Ganga Scheme, Rs. 321 crore, Crop Diversification and Organic Farming Scheme, Rs. 85 crore Apple Replantation Scheme.

Prof. Dhumal said that Government had made sincere efforts to ensure better health care facilities at their door steps of the people and counted various schemes such as Atal Swashya Sewa Yojna, Matri Shakti Sewa Yojna, Mukhyamantri Vidyarthi Swasthya Yojna. He said that every ration card holder of the State were being provided ration on subsidized rates for which a provision of Rs. 130 crore had been made during this year.

Chief Minister announced starting of classes in ITI Kharahan and deployment of Naib Tehsildar or Tehsildar for one week in a month at Taklech so that people of the area do not face any difficulty in getting their revenue and administrative works done.

Prof. Dhumal was presented a bank draft of Rs. 31,000 towards Chief Minister Relief Fund by Shri Chander Shekhar Vaidya on behalf of offices and officials of Milk Federation.

Chief Minister also performed foundation stone laying ceremony of Rs. 3.26 crore Bagwani Lift Irrigation Scheme at Rattanpur Gaura.

Shri Narender Bragta, Horticulture Minister thanked the Chief Minister for safeguarding the interests of fruit growers and farmers in the State. He also thanked for installing Anti Hail Gun at Kharapattar.

Shri Sher Singh Chauhan, Chairman, Agriculture and Rural Development Bank and President, District Shimla BJP, Shri Mohan Joshi, Chairman, Milk Fed., Shri Brij Lal, Chairman, Kailash Federation, Shri Bhupender Tarel, President, BJP Mandal also spoke on the occasion.

Shri Raj Kumar, Pradhan, local Gram Panchyat proposed vote of thanks.

Shri Kishori Lal, MLA, Shri Gian Chandel, Chairman, APMC, Shri Sandeepani Bhardwaj, Member, National Kisan Morcha BJP Executive Committee, Smt. Veena Sharma, Member, BJP Executive Committee and other prominent persons were present on the occasion.

If soya milk does not suit your tastebuds, you may soon have an alternative to satiate your craving for milk.

Scientists at Junagadh Agricultural University (JAU) have developed peanut milk that may soon be available in the market. Although the commercially viable process for peanut milk has been developed, the consumers would have to wait a bit long.