India being world’s largest milk producer is now planning to export Indian Milk and Milk Products to Russia. The Indian government is working on a formula to allow two local dairy companies to export products to Russia for six months.
Dairy exports of India cover Middle East, Pakistan and other neighboring countries. Now, with the permission to export in Russia will add another country in the portfolio. A reason behind this planning is the deficient of dairy products in Russia, mainly after its military intervention in Ukraine last year.
In order to fulfill countries dairy needs, Russia had sent an inspection team to India, which examined the India’s dairy industry.
The companies meeting Russian slandered, which includes minimum 1000 milk animals to meet the export demand of the country. Only two dairy units—belonging to Parag Milk Foods and Schreiber Dynamix Dairies-—got Russian approval, according to a commerce department official.
An official of commerce department in its conversation with ET said “although we are negotiating with Russia to remove this condition, we have not been able to convince them. We are trying to find a mutually acceptable clause. If nothing works out, then we might settle for allowing these two companies to export and review this agreement after six months.”
In 2014-15, India exported 66.424 billion ton of dairy products worth Rs 1,205.38 crore. The major export destinations were Bangladesh, the UAE, Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan.
“We have maintained that India follows cooperative farming in dairy products and there is not mass farming, but we haven’t been able to convince them for this,” the official said.
The six-month arrangement is being considered to prevent monopolization by the two firms, besides finding a long-term solution to the problem and not losing the new market to others.
Meanwhile, Indian dairy product expsorters want the government to charge a premium from Russia in lieu of meeting its norms. “With the sanctions, Russia looks vulnerable now, and if they are not willing to come to the negotiating table at this point, they may not do in the future,” said Ajay Sahai, directorgeneral of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations.
