India signs dairy products export protocol with Russia

 After nearly 16 months of formal announcement, India has finally signed protocol with the government of Russia for exports of dairy products to that country.

With this, Indian producers may start exports of dairy products largely hard cheese to Russia to which the first consignment is expected to leave Indian ports by June-end.

Estimated at 230,000 tonnes, Russia's hard cheese supply was met largely through imports from European countries. But, since restrictions were imposed on dairy products import from Europe in retaliation with the economic sanctions levied by European countries, the hard cheese import was diverted from South America and neighbouring Russian markets including Belarus etc.

Amid stiff conditions on quality, therefore, Russia was desparately looking for alternative supply of hard cheese from Asian countries and India being the largest milk producer in the world, could get some pie of the Russian markets.

"The government today signed the protocol, which would allow Indian dairy exporters to start shipment of hard cheese," said a senior industry official.

Russian announced opening of its dairy product markets for Indian exporters in December 2014 coinciding the visit of its President Vladimir Putin. But, the actual shipment hit a roadblock due to stiff conditions laid down by the Russian phytosanitary authority Rosselkhoznadzor.

After visiting around two-dozen factory premises and facility of milk procurement in India, Rosselkhoznadzor officials concluded that farms with less than the herd size of 1,000 cattle would not be allowed to export dairy products to Russia. In India, therefore, only two dairy farms including Parag Milk Foods and Schreiber Dynamix were conforming to this norm.

While Parag MD Devendra Shah recommended the government to sign the protocol to begin with the exports and negotiate for the liberalisation in norms later, dairy companies like Amul brand producer Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF) insisted the government to sign the protocol only after liberalisation in this norm.

The objective of GCMMF was to accommodate more companies including small and medium size producers for exports.

"After signing the protocol by the government of India, the Rusian authority would sign it. The entire process would take at least 15 days to one month. After that, negotiations of prices and trade terms would take at least one more month. So, by June- nd we would be able to supply first consignment of hard cheese to Russia," said Shah,

Industry sources, however, said that the Russian authority has liberalised norms to accommodate more Indian players in dairy exports. Instead of herd size of 1,000 cattle, the Russian authority has focused on traceability of milk procurement and quality of cheese India produces.

"More than exports of dairy products, Russia would be able to pay some premiums compared to other export destinations which would help raise prices of skimmed milk powder (SMP) and other products which have been under tremendous pressure for over 18-month. Once dairy farms begin to get higher realisation, they would pass on to farmers for milk procurement. So, farmers would benefit ultimately," said Shirish Upadhyay, Senior Vice President (Strategic Planning), Parag Milk Foods.

Resource :http://www.business-standard.com/article/markets/india-signs-dairy-products-export-protocol-with-russia-116042801248_1.html

Import of dry milk harming local farmers’ interests: UVAS VC

LAHORE - Massive-scale import of dry milk and whey powder has been damaging local milk farmers, as they are unable to get the right price of their milk.
This was stated by Vice Chancellor of the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Prof Talat Naseer Pasha in an exclusive talk with APP here on Sunday.

He said that European Union was giving subsidy to their farmers to produce milk that’s why their farmers were growing and they had acquired a strong position in milk production.
About the potential of agriculture and livestock sectors, Prof Pasha said that Pakistan is an agricultural country with world’s one of the best irrigation systems, fertile lands and all four seasons.
Agriculture sector contributes about one fourth to the country’s GDP and is believed to be the backbone of the rural economy, as it provides employment to 45 per cent workforce of the country, he added.
While livestock is an integral part of the agriculture sector, it contributes 55.
1 per cent to the agricultural value added, and approximately 12 per cent to the national GDP, he said.
Responding to a question about the rise and fall of investment in the dairy sector, the VC said that milk is largely the single most commodity of the livestock sector and the value of milk alone exceeds combined value of wheat, rice, maize and sugarcane in the country.
More than 8 million farming families are associated with livestock sector and majority of them are small-holders and landless.
This depicts the critical dependence of 40 to 50 million rural people on the livestock sector.
Selling milk for meeting day-to-day needs has become a visible phenomenon in the country during the last two decades and hence livestock farming has become vital in generating instant cash flows for the rural population.
Historically, majority of the livestock farming has been fragmented into small holders, as smaller herd size is 1-6 animals.
As a result of various dairy development initiatives since 2005, tremendous improvement had been witnessed in dairy farming where commercial and corporate sector in dairy farming emerged.
The country has seen phenomenal growth in investment in dairy farming during the last one decade.

The emerging commercial scale farmers had positively influenced the whole livestock farming sector in terms of transforming practices, sharing modern knowledge and skills and attracting international service providers.
The trend of investment in the dairy farming continued until 2013 when this growth started declining and has currently been halted, he added.
About the declining trend in the dairy sector, Prof Pasha said that livestock farmers especially samll farmers have been facing various issues for the last few years, that have not only hampered the growth in this sector but eventually put the livelihoods of 40 to 50 million people at stake.

One of the major issues that has adversely impacted livestock sector is the unchecked import of milk powder and whey powder in the country, as the duty regime is just 20 per cent for such imports that makes it easy to get it dumped in Pakistan.

These imports have shaken the dairy sector stake-holders particularly the producers/ farmers.
It’s worth mentioning here that Pakistan is considered the third largest milk producing country in the world with nearly 50 billion liters of annual production.
However, despite having one of the largest animal population base and huge local production of milk, the import of powders indicates manipulation in the value chain, resulting in net economic loss both to producers and consumers.
In short, the dairy farming sector is at the verge of devastation due to influx of skimmed milk powder and whey milk powder (SMP&WM) from across the globe, the VC added.
The use of SMP&WP in the dairy processing industry, dairy related products, biscuits, sweet making, confectionary industry and tea whitening segment has deprived the local farmers of getting the right price of their commodity and eventually triggered a discouraging wave in the developing dairy farming sector.

The VC said that import of SMP&WP, according to the United Nations database, Pakistan imported 35 million kilograms of milk powder in 2012 worth $102.
1 million, 22 million kilograms in 2013 worth $70.

8 million and 34 million kilograms in 2014 worth $117 million.

At the same time, Pakistan imported 19.

5 million kilograms, 18.

3m Kgs and 20.

2m Kgs of whey powder in 2012, 2013 and 2014 worth $13.

4 million , $15 million and $16.

9 million, respectively.

From 2007 onwards, there has been a shift in focus of Pakistani dairy processors from selling milk to selling recipe products made out of SMP&WP and vegetable fat etc.
These products are generally called tea whiteners and dairy liquids.

According to estimation by dairy industry experts, in 2014, the share of recipe products (other than milk) in litre-age term has gone up to 59 percent in total sales while plain white milk is only 41 percent.
Since these recipe products are made using SMP&WP for dairy processor, the cost of production of these products is far below the raw milk prices, which ultimately deprives dairy farmers of a better price for their raw milk, the VC claimed.

When asked what should be done to halt the import of dry milk and whey milk to help the local farmers to continue their business, he suggested levying 100 to 150 per cent duty on import of dry and whey milk.

Resource  :http://nation.com.pk/lahore/25-Apr-2016/import-of-dry-milk-harming-local-farmers-interests-uvas-vc

Reduce sugar content in dairy whitener: Food regulator

xWith India being home to a huge population of diabetic patients, the food regulator has asked the industry to reduce sugar content in dairy whitener used in tea and coffee in households.

Currently, the total added sugar for dairy whitener is 24 per cent by mass, which the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) wants to bring down to 18 per cent. The industry will be given two years to suitably modify the manufacturing process.

This was decided by the FSSAI in its 17th meeting held on May 18, the minutes of which were released last Friday.

‘24% sugar hazardous’

“There was near unanimity that the sugar level could not be kept at 24 per cent as a standard as it could be hazardous for consumers suffering from diabetes,” the food regulator said.

India is reported to have close to 65 million cases of diabetes, the second largest number after China. Union Health Ministry estimates suggest nearly 50 per cent of known diabetics cases—another 30 million plus—are undiagnosed and unaware of their condition and progressing towards complications.

A population-based diabetes screening programme carried out by the health ministry suggests high prevalence of diabetes in several states like Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab and Sikkim where the prevalence varies between 7-14 per cent. The suspected prevalence of diabetes in urban slums is also  high—about 12 per cent.

The industry representative, however, argued at the meeting that it might not be feasible for the manufacturers to switch to the 18 per cent sugar standard. But the regulator was firm that the industry had to shift to the new standard, as higher sugar level is a health hazard.

The 18 per cent sugar standard was fixed by the Bureau of Indian Standards, which the FSSAI asked the manufacturers like Nestle, Amul and Mother Dairy to follow. In the meeting, the industry was represented by the All India Food Processors’ Association.

Alcoholic beverages

In the same meeting, the FSSAI had also approved draft standards for alcoholic beverages and the necessary labelling conditions for imported liquors.

The official process has now begun to publish the draft notification on alcoholic beverages seeking public comments.

Earlier this year, the Central Advisory Committee of the FSSAI had given the go-ahead to make standards for alcoholic beverages like vodka, gin, whisky, rum, brandy and beer.

Resource :http://www.deccanherald.com/content/507209/reduce-sugar-content-dairy-whitener.html

Misleading ads: CCP issues notices to dairy drink producers

ISLAMABAD: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has served show cause notices to four dairy drink manufacturers after finding that four out of five existing market players were deceiving consumers by selling tea whiteners as milk.

The anti-trust watchdog issued show cause notices to Shakarganj Foods Products Limited, Haleeb Foods Limited, Noon Pakistan Limited and Engro Foods Limited for alleged violation of the Competition Act 2010, by advertising tea whiteners as milk, announced the CCP on Monday.

The CCP conducted an inquiry of all the existing players who produced dairy drinks and tea whiteners and advertised them as milk. It evaluated the packaging and marketing practices, including television commercials, website disclosure and other marketing material.

There had been concerns that the manufacturers were marketing dairy drinks and tea whiteners as milk, whereas both the products actually contained only a proportion of dry milk in their ingredients. The product could not be considered as fresh milk.

“Through advertisements, the public is being misled into believing that they are consuming milk, whereas what they are actually consuming are ‘dairy drinks manufactured from powered milk’ or ‘liquid tea whiteners’,” said the inquiry report.

The CCP observed that deceptive marketing practices had a direct impact on the public at large. False and misleading advertisements induced consumers to purchase products which gave producers a competitive edge over other players.

Nestle Pakistan

Nestle Pakistan is the only producer that, according to the CCP, is not giving any wrong impression to the general public about its product ‘Everyday’.

“Nestle Pakistan is manufacturing two variants of Everyday, one is in the powder form ie ‘Powdered Tea Whitener’ and the other is in liquid form ie ‘Tea Creamer’ which is clearly mentioned on their respective packaging,” showed the inquiry.

Other four

The inquiry found that four manufacturers were involved in distributing false and misleading information that could eventually harm consumer interests as well as business interest of other players.

The report recommended the initiation of show-cause notices to Shakarganj Foods Products for its product Qudrat (liquid tea whitener), Haleeb Foods for its product All Max (dairy drink) and Dairy Queen (liquid tea whitener), Noon Pakistan for its product Dairy Rozana (dairy drink) and Engro Foods for its product Dairy Omung (dairy drink).

Noon Pakistan has recently been bought by Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim Limited.

There are a set of standards defined by the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) and the Punjab Food Authority (PFA) for dairy products such as milk, dairy drinks and tea whiteners.

Any product claiming to be milk, must contain milk protein not less than 34% of SNF and lactose not less than 4.6% of SNF, extracted from Halal animals.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 19^th,  2016.

 

Resource :http://tribune.com.pk/story/1087434/misleading-ads-ccp-issues-notices-to-dairy-drink-producers/

Midwest Dairy Association to Consumers: Take the Pledge

As dairy intake declines in the U.S., an industry group is calling on Americans to pledge to consume three servings of milk, cheese, and other dairy products every day. The message: It’s both healthy and affordable.

It’s probably no surprise that the Midwest Dairy Association wants you to boost your dairy intake. What might surprise you, however, is that DMA wants you to pledge to consume three servings of dairy products every day.

DMA launched its “Dairy 3 for Me” pledge last month, citing concerns that many Americans aren’t getting the USDA-recommended daily amount of low-fat or fat-free dairy foods. So far, more than 400 people have taken the pledge, including at least two news anchors and one child—the latter being MDA Dietitian Stephanie Cundith’s son Topher.

A three-times-a-day habit is both healthy and fiscally responsible for consumers, MDA says.

“Dairy’s nutrition, versatility, as well at its affordability—an eight-ounce glass of milk costs, on average, only 25 cents—are all motivating factors in taking the Dairy 3 for Me pledge,” Cundith said in a news release. “Not only is upholding a commitment to get three servings of dairy every day important to our health, but it can be easy to do and easy on a grocery shopper’s budget.”

The drive to get Americans to fill their glasses with more cow’s milk comes at a time when the industry is facing stiff competition from alternatives such as soy and almond milk. Indeed, last month the Plant Based Foods Association launched to represent manufacturers of these and other plant-based products in Washington, DC.

Interested in taking the dairy pledge? Hop on to the Midwest Dairy Association website.

Resource :http://associationsnow.com/2016/04/midwest-dairy-association-consumers-take-pledge/

Manufacture program connects students

The Cows Create Careers (CCC) Manufacturing Program is a dairy industry initiative launched by Dairy Australia in 2010. Following a successful pilot program in Victoria, the program was expanded to several other states establishing a vital link between secondary school students, teachers, dairy manufacturing and the dairy industry supply chain.

The program introduces secondary school students to career and education pathways in dairy manufacturing and encourages students to learn not only about the manufacture of dairy products but also the nutritional benefits of this amazing food source.

The program is strongly supported by dairyfarmers, field officers, dairy companies and others across the dairy manufacturing chain. The program is delivered to 140 schools and 3000 students across the country. A key part of the program requires secondary school students to visit dairy factories, and local industry advocates to visit schools to outline the myriad career opportunities available. It provides a link between schools, dairy companies and the local school community.

John Pye, a director of Murray Goulburn and farmer from Hamilton in Victoria, has been involved with the CCC Manufacturing Program since its inception. Mr Pye helps in the camembert in the classroom component and regularly attends presentation days.

"This program is fun and educational," he said. "The teachers are so enthusiastic, and I've seen an improvement in the quality of the kids and their levels of interest each year. It's easy to notice the change in the kids understanding of dairy and how much they love it."

While the manufacturing program continues to grow in popularity, Mr Pye said the program's benefits were as much about awareness and creating career pathways as they were about the program's achievements.

"The dairy industry has long recognised the opportunities for growth and profitability and how closely these are linked to its position as a world-competitive producer," he said. "Linking the local schools and students to the dairy manufacturers is a key aspect of this." 

Resource:http://adf.farmonline.com.au/news/magazine/industry-news/general/manufacture-program-connects-students/2751969.aspx

Now is the time to lock in deals for dairy ingredients, says Greenfields Ireland

Dairy commodity prices have hit the floor as there is too much milk in the market and not enough demand for it.

 In Europe this has been caused largely by the abolition of milk quotas, which previously put a cap on how much milk dairy farmers were allowed to produce. With EU-wide quotas consigned to history, dairy commodities are exposed to free market forces that have sent prices crashing to the floor.

The European Commission is already buying up skimmed milk powder through its Intervention Scheme to prop up the market, and is expected to extend this measure to butter in the next few weeks. According to Belfast-based Greenfields Ireland, as soon as a market balance is achieved prices are almost certain to start rising again. This means now is the perfect time for food manufacturers in Europe to lock into a fixed-price deal for their dairy ingredients using a long-term pricing model.

“Do this today, and it will be possible to benefit from low prices and insulate your business from the extreme price volatility that’s been a characteristic of the European dairy ingredients market over the past decade,” said Ian Thomas, Managing Director of Greenfields Ingredients, the UK division of Greenfields Ireland.
‘Simply too good to miss’

Mr Thomas added: “For companies in the bakery, confectionery and ready meals categories, who often use large volumes of dairy ingredients, this is an opportunity that’s simply too good to miss. Wait too long, however, and it could be too late. Intervention by the European Commission will take excess supplies of milk out of the market, and product prices will soon start to creep up.”

However, according to Mr Thomas, prices will not stay low for long. “Now is the time to consider locking into a long-term pricing model,” he explained. “This will give you the assurance of knowing that when prices eventually rise, which we expect them to do in the second half of 2016, the price you pay for your dairy ingredients will be more favourable than that available on the market. Considering the pressure major retailers put on their suppliers to keep a lid on raw material costs, the peace of mind this offers could prove to be invaluable. While your competitors are pulling their hair out at the prospect of an upswing in ingredient prices, you’ll enjoy the benefits of cost protection.”

Resource :http://www.newfoodmagazine.com/23665/news/industry-news/greenfields-dairy-ingredient-prices/