–Govt source: No plan as of now to cut import duty on milk pdts
–Govt source: RBI has suggested cut in milk pdts duty to tame prices
NEW DELHI – The government will not reduce the import duty on milk products as of now despite the Reserve Bank of India flagging concern over sticky high prices, a senior official from the finance ministry told Informist.
“The RBI has suggested us to reduce import duty on some milk products…they have written to us few times…but we are not thinking of doing so at this moment,” the official said. The official, however, did not clarify which items has the central bank suggested reducing the duty on.
The insistence from the central bank comes at a time when Consumer Price Index inflation in milk products has remained above the 6% mark for 11 consecutive months. In June, retail inflation in ‘milk and products’ was at 8.56%, down from 8.85% in May. The ‘milk and products’ index carries a weight of 6.61% in the CPI basket.
Retail milk prices have remained high for about a year mainly due to high feed and fodder costs. The Wholesale Price Index inflation for fodder has remained in double digits since February 2022.
The RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee had in its June statement said that milk prices are likely to remain “under pressure” in the coming months due to supply shortfalls and high fodder costs.
