In view of agriculture minister Sharad Pawar’s recent statement on the likely short supply of milk in north India, the Bihar Government has requested the Government of India (GoI) to ban export of milk-based products like Casein.

“Casein, which constitutes almost 80% of the protein content in milk and cheese, is an essential commodity for milk manufacturers in the country. Therefore, ban on Casein exports will help to increase availability of the commodity in the domestic market,” says Bhavesh Shah, CEO of National Casein Company, a small-sized milk and Casein manufacturer and supplier in Nadiad, Gujarat.

Initiatives to be undertaken

According to Sushil Kumar Modi, deputy chief minister and finance minister of Bihar, the GoI should undertake requisite measures in order to restrict the export of Casein, which has a number of uses in food products, medicines, paper and plastic. He also added that the export levy on Casein and milk powder should be hiked in order to check the price hike of dairy products.

The minister stated that the export of milk and its products will lead to price hike in the domestic market. States such as New Delhi, West Bengal and Orissa are currently witnessing a milk shortage. As a result, Bihar is supplying almost 1 lakh litre of milk to these states on a daily basis.

“Escalating prices of cattle feed such as de-oiled rice husks and rice bran have also led to the hike in milk prices,” says AS Karthikeyan, CEO of A Arunachalam, a small-sized dairy products manufacturer and supplier in Kangayam, Tamil Nadu. In January 2010, price of de-oiled rice husks surged to Rs 5,625 per metric tonne from Rs 3,125 per metric tonne in the corresponding month last year. During the same period, cost of rice bran jumped from Rs 5,899 per metric tonne to Rs 8,825 per metric tonne.

Sabrina Mitchell