With a global increase in prices of dairy commodities post the COVID pandemic, there has also been a rise in export opportunities for Skimmed Milk Powder (SMP) and Butter from India. Government data for the financial year 2022-23 shows a rise of 197.74 percent in the export of SMP, 121.98 percent in the export of milk fat and 157.77 percent in the export of casein.
With more than ample availability of SMP, milk cooperatives had requested the government in November 2022 to allow some import of fat for the reconstitution of milk. Sources added that even Amul was buying fat stock from the market to reconstitute milk till March 2023.
However, no import of fats took place as the government felt there was a scope for hoarding of milk by the private sector. At present, AMF/butter isn’t covered under the ambit of Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) under the Customs Act.
The Indian Government is targeting exports of milk and dairy products to dairy-deficient geographies like China, West Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa and South America.
Among the neighbouring countries, Indian dairy products are competing with their counterparts from New Zealand for a share in the Sri Lankan market.
However, a rise in dairy exports remains incumbent on ensuring adherence to health protocols laid down by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), the Paris-based equivalent of the WHO, which prescribes heat treatment like pasteurization of milk to ensure food safety.
To increase dairy exports, the government is working on the identification and traceability of dairy cattle, which is insisted upon by many nations as a pre-condition for dairy imports. Breed improvement of milch cattle through artificial insemination and ensuring disease-free cattle are other steps being taken to make Indian dairy products a sought-after commodity across the world. The government is also looking to export more ghee (clarified butter) from India as there is a lesser chance of transmission of any disease through ghee.
