India Says ‘No’ to Chinese Dairy Products [ Transfreez Mobile Refrigeration - India's Most Effective Refrigeated Trucks ]

The strong message comes as China’s steps to improve product safety and regain consumer confidence are slow to materialize.

By Fran Howard, Agweb contributing writer

The world’s second most populous country and its largest producer of milk gave China a strong message by reiterating that it would not import any of its milk-based food products.

India reaffirmed its ban on Chinese milk and dairy products recently, extending the sanction through June 22, 2015, according to USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). Banned products include chocolates, chocolate products, candies, and other foods made with milk or milk solids.

"India’s ban on Chinese milk and dairy products has been in place since 2008," says Sara Dorland, analsyst with the Daily Dairy Report and managing partner at Ceres Dairy Risk Management, Seattle. The ban went into effect shortly after China’s dairy industry suffered a scandal related to milk tainted with melamine, which killed four children and sickened thousands of others.

"Since then China has been taking steps to improve product safety and regain consumer confidence, but the road to recovery for China’s dairy industry has been peppered with setbacks and has been slow to materialize," says Dorland. "Measures taken since 2013, however, appear to be giant strides toward repairing some of the country’s food-safety problems."

Second only to China, India has an estimated population of more than 1.26 billion people as well as a growing economy.

"India’s consumer class is expanding, and dairy consumption is growing around 5 percent per year, and India needs to keep pace with this growth," says Dorland. "India’s dairy industry is still primarily a subsistence pastoral system, which means it is affected by adverse weather conditions. When India falls behind in domestic production, the country will import dairy products."

As the world’s largest producer of milk—at least when buffalo milk is included—the country is expected to produce 140.6 million tons of milk this year, accounting for roughly 17 percent of the world’s total milk supply. In 1990-91, the country produced 53.9 million pounds, according to FAS.

"India’s ban is likely political in nature rather than substantive as the country has not imported dairy solids of consequence from any nation since 2012," says Dorland. FAS projects that India will not import any nonfat dry milk, fluid milk, or butterfat this year.

Like China, India is trying to grow its dairy industry. The Indian government recently launched dairy development programs and is strengthening the infrastructure.

India’s National Dairy Plan, approved in February 2012, is expected to inject $416 million into the industry through 2017 to meet the need for an expected 150 million tons of domestic milk production. Initiatives under India’s National Dairy Plan include increasing productivity through scientific breeding and nutrition and strengthening village-based milk procurement systems, according to FAS.

"Despite India importing very little dairy, India does import other products from China," notes Dorland. In 2012, India imported $66.57 billion in products from China, according to the Brookings Institute.

"There is a chance that without the ban, dairy product from China could come in," she adds. "But India, as the world’s largest producer of milk, has a vested interest protecting its industry."

Indian dairy sector set for overhaul; to move from processors to producers [ Transfreez Mobile Refrigeration - India's Most Effective Cold Plate Refrigerated Trucks ]

India has the maximum number of cows and buffalos in dairy production: about 300 million. It is also the global leader in milk production: about 135 million tonnes a year. Neither figure impresses Trevor Tomkins of the US-based Venture Dairy, an early-stage impact investing firm focused on dairying in developing countries.


"India produces that quantity of milk from far too many cows," he says. The efficiency of the Indian dairying sector is abysmally low. The best- run farms in the world produce 1.6 kg of milk for every kg of feed, explains Tomkins; in India it's less than a kg.

In India, dairying is predominantly unorganised and the sector is dependent on rural households for supplies; over 70 million of 147 million households in India depend on dairy for their livelihood. They have been largely left to their devices and they continue to milk animals that produce around 3 litres a day.

"This can be easily taken to 15 litres with better nutrition and farm management," says Tomkins. "It's not rocket science."

Why then hasn't this happened? The companies and cooperatives that anchor the dairy sector are content presiding over primitive milk-collection systems. It's just a milk mop-up model that is at work. "The farmlevel contribution of NDDB (National Dairy Development Board) is little," explains GNS Reddy, founder of Akshayakalpa, which is setting up a hub-and-spoke dairy cluster of 300 organic dairy farms in Karnataka.

And why didn't they focus on the upstream of the value chain? "Because the milk processors have done very well for themselves and just don't find the need to invest time and money in small-holders," explains Tomkins.

Also, the Indian dairy sector is highly fragmented, with organised players having only about 18% of the market, which contributes to the disarray at the farmer's end.

Producer Focus

The processors are just about coping with the increasing demand for milk. According to Ladderup, a financial advisory, the Indian dairy sector generated revenue of $55 billion in 2012 and is expected to reach $118 billion by 2017. Amul (Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation) has had a good run in recent years. It recorded a turnover of `18,000 crore in 2013-14, a 32% growth over the previous year.

Western markets are saturated and the action is evidently moving to emerging economies, which are at the threshold of a huge spurt in milk demand. Tetra Pak projects a 30% growth in dairy consumption in developing countries over the next decade and is banking on the 2.7 billion low-income consumer pool as the global dairy industry's next big opportunity.

This is the reason why Tomkins has been traveling across India, China, and parts of Latin America and east Africa over the past year since he formed Venture Dairy. The potential is huge, but it requires a radical systemic change in the way business is organised and conducted.

He would like to chaperone Indian dairying from a "subsistence" type of activity to robust commercial models. "Dairying families and communities have to be made profitable and productive economic units," says Tomkins. "Only then can they transition from 25 to 100 cows to maybe 500 cows."

He believes dairying can be sustainable only if food systems are integrated with a deeper understanding and engagement on nutrition and feeding. "Farms that don't produce a large proportion of their feed are simply not sustainable" he explains. Tomkins, who is impressed with the Akshayakalpa model, visited the project site recently for a possible second round of funding. "We have to produce milk where it is consumed," says GNS Reddy of Akshayakalpa, who is passionate about environmental and sustainability issues, like Tomkins.

A local, decentralised, community-focused approach would be ideal for a country like India with millions of small-holder farmers. Tomkins, with nearly four decades in dairying, has seen it all in the US and elsewhere, and doesn't approve of the CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operations) or the 'factory farm' way of dairying, in which thousands of animals, pumped with antibiotics and hormones, are subject to lifelong, indoor confinement in a single location. However, the first CAFOs are already beginning to appear in India.

Keeping Milk Fresh — With Frogs [ Transfreez Mobile Refrigeration - India's Most Effective Cold Plate Refrigerated Trucks ]

Before modern refrigeration, people dropped frogs in their milk to preserve it. 

Long before modern refrigeration, people in Russia and Finland reportedly placed living Russian brown frogs in milk to keep it fresh.

It turns out the curious practice has a basis in science: Recent research on the amphibians’ skin secretions led by Moscow State University organic chemist A.T. Lebedev shows they’re loaded with peptides, antimicrobial compounds as potent against Salmonella and Staphylococcus bacteria as prescription antibiotics.

To your health!

Transfreez Mobile Refrigeration - India's Most Effective Cold Plate Refrigerated Trucks

Source: Discover Magazine

Indian cow, may your yield increase [Transfreez Mobile Refrigeration-India's most effective cold plate reefers]

India has the world’s largest livestock population — 58 per cent of buffaloes and 15 per cent of cattle. Owing to this huge bovine stock, though India has managed to attain numero uno position in milk production, the full potential of Indian milch herd remains unattained.

Over the last three decades (1982 to 2012), average productivity of Indian cattle and buffaloes has grown from 1.9 to 3.9 kg per day, and from 3.7 to 6.2 kg per day, respectively.

The average daily milk yield for crossbred cattle is better at 7.1 kg per day, but still significantly lesser than the best of global standards — UK, US and Israel are at 25.6, 32.8 and 38.6 kg per day, respectively.

The major causes of low productivity in India are both intrinsic (low genetic potential) and extrinsic (poor nutrition/feed management, inferior farm management practices, ineffective veterinary and extension services and inefficient implementation of breed improvement programmes).

Breeding initiatives

Government initiatives such as the National Project on Cattle & Buffalo Breeding (NPCBB) have contributed significantly to strengthening artificial insemination (AI) services.

But lack of focus on progeny testing due to unavailability of technical manpower, small herd size and inefficient implementation has been an impediment.

AI services cover only 25 per cent of dairy animals. Further, over the years, emphasis has been on crossbreeding, with limited attention to improvement of indigenous breeds.

For developing sustainable breeding strategies it is also necessary to have comprehensive national level mapping and database development on number of species of livestock and their breeds, available animal genetic resources, breeding infrastructure and development facilities.

Cross-breeding with high yielding exotic breeds should be encouraged in areas with adequate facility for feed and fodder as well as suitable agro-climatic conditions. Genetic upgradation by way of breeding non-descript cattle with defined indigenous breeds needs to be encouraged in resource deficient areas.

Need based import of live animals and germ plasm (semen and embryos) needs to be debated and facilitated, amidst adoption of scientific bio security measures.

Feed management

With rapidly shrinking land and natural resources, availability and quality of feed and fodder is increasingly becoming a challenge. The current deficit of green fodder and concentrates is 34 per cent. Further, there is a supply demand gap for quality forage seeds as well.

Imbalanced nutrition due to lack of farmers’ knowledge about appropriate use of existing feed resources is also a major factor responsible for low livestock productivity.

The Ration Balancing Programme of NDDB and Accelerated Fodder Development Programme of the Government are commendable initiatives to ensure better feed availability and improved nutrition.

Application of newer technology to produce large scale feed blocks, feed enzymes and other innovative feed resources, needs to be enhanced. Development of an innovative silage business model by way of partnerships amongst seed companies, operations service providers (for baling and supply chain functions) and rural retail channels can be a significant step in this direction.

Veterinary services

High quality veterinary services are an important enabler for enhancing milk yield.

But currently due to unavailability of trained manpower and lack of mobility (veterinary service requirements are normally on short notice and require attendance in a limited time window at farm doorstep), the services provided are not able to create desired impact.

An authentic, concurrently updated database for prevalence and emergence of diseases is essential for identification, onward prevention and control.

A fairly large infrastructure of vaccine and diagnostic production units, semen stations and AI breeding farms that is largely owned by the government, can be more efficiently utilised by way of appropriate participation of the private sector.

Farm management practices

Adoption of better farm management practices and automation helps in reducing operational cost and improving milk quality as well as productivity.

Here, collaborative and innovative dairy farming models have a critical role to play.

There is a need for devising and implementing low cost technologies (for feeding, healthcare diagnostics, cow comfort and milking) that are suited to Indian dairy farming, thereby improving yields.

Effective delivery of extension services is critical to achieve higher milk productivity. Extension activities also need to address farmer education on preventive measures, improved animal feeding and farm management practices.

Currently, less than 1 per cent of the total plan budget for the animal husbandry sector is allocated for extension activities. Progressive farmers also need to be trained to act as extension agents for disseminating technical knowledge.

India’s success in attaining leadership and contributing 17 per cent to the global milk production has been achieved more on the strength of milch animal numbers and less on the back of yield improvements.

But in order to meet the impending supply demand gap, it has become imperative to focus on improving productivity.

A significantly spruced up breeding programme, efficient feed management interventions, broad-basing the scale and scope of veterinary services, adoption of superior farm management practices and an efficient extension network are the five pillars on which the dairy sector shall be efficiently poised to achieve the full potential of the Indian dairy herd.

Transfreez mobile refrigeration - India's most effective cold plate reefers

The writer is managing director & CEO, Yes Bank and president, Assocham

(This article was published on March 26, 2014

Respect women's contribution to dairy sector: Patel [Transfreez Mobile Refrigeration-India's most effective Cold Plate Reefers]

Asia's biggest dairy, Banas Dairy, bid farewell to former chairperson of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) Dr Amrita Patel at a special function 'Rin Swikar (acceptance of indebtedness)' programme held on Tuesday.

Thousands of women milk producers from the district turned emotional seeing their leader on the stage. Many called her symbol of "woman power" for showing the way to bring economic prosperity.

"Once selling milk was frowned upon and it was Parthibhai and Amritaben who had showed us the way to take up dairy farming," a woman milk producer Lakshmi Loh said.

Lauding her 15 years as chairperson of NDDB, Banas Dairy chairman Parthi Bhatol recalled the days when the dairy was just trying to get on its feet.

"But for her wholehearted co-operation, we farmers of a backward district of Banaskantha would never have been what we are today," he said.

Earlier, Patel was honored with shawl and a citation.

Addressing the women, Patel urged the dairy authorities not to ignore the contribution of women to the dairy's prosperity.



Transfreez Mobile Refrigeration-India's most effective Cold Plate Reefers
Source: Times Of India

Amul Dairy MD to head Lactalis India operations [Transfreez Mobile Refrigeration-India's Most Effective Cold Plate Reefers]

Rahul Kumar Srivastava, managing director of Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union Limited (KDCMPUL), also known as Amul Dairy, is set to head the Indian operations of the world’s largest dairy group, Le Groupe Lactalis, in Chennai.

KDCMPUL is also a member union of the Gujarat Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which owns the Amul brand. Though the brand is owned and marketed by GCMMF, the Amul Dairy at Anand is run by KDCMPUL. According to sources, Srivastava will head the Indian operations of the French major, which recently entered the world’s largest dairy market, India. Earlier, in January this year, Lactalis had acquired south India-based private player Tirumala Milk Products for about Rs 1,750 crore. Srivastava, an engineer from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee, and a student from the Institute of Rural Management, Anand, had joined GCMMF 22 years ago.

He was offered the post of managing director at the Amul Dairy at the age of 33 years, in 2003.

It is learnt that Srivastava was in the look-out for a suitable opportunity for the last one-and-a-half years. He did not wish to comment on the development, and a mail to Lactalis remained un-answered.

Ramsinh Parmar, KDCMPUL chairman, said, “Srivastava has intimated that he would like to switch his job.”

Founded in France 80 years ago, Groupe Lactalis employs more than 54,000 people and operating in 70 countries through 200 factories. Lactalis develops well-known international brands such as Président, Galbani and Parmalat. According to the group website, the group turnover in 2012 was 15.7 billion euros.

Transfreez Mobile Refrigeration-India's Most Effective Cold Plate Reefers

Source: business-standard

Newsletter Feb 2014 [Transfreez Mobile Refrigeration-Name stands for Refrigerated Trucks India]

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