NDDB chief rules out milk price cuts as feed prices jump 70%

The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) said there is no likelihood of milk prices coming down as fodder has turned pricier on account of drought conditions. "Prices of cattle-feed have gone up by 70 percent, which is affecting dairy farmers. Even the global milk scenario is not positive and export is down. This situation will continue for some more time," NDDB chairman T Nanda Kumar told PTI here. "There is no possibility of domestic milk prices coming down. Prices of some cattle-feed ingredients continue to rise and that affects milk producers," he added.

In such a scenario, lowering milk prices will hit farmers, he said, but also added that milk prices may not go up either. Kumar was talking after inaugurating the second phase of a packaging film plant by Indian Dairy Machinery Company (IDMC) at Vithal Udyognagar in Anand, around 40 km from here. IDMC will also set up a plant to produce packaging materials with extra shelf life with 5-9 layer film, which is expected to be ready by the end of the year, Kumar said adding, "It will be the first of its kind the country." Ravi Shankar, managing director of IDMC, which is into dairy equipment, food product and system integration businesses and offers a range of processing and packaging solutions to make food safe, said the proposed packaging plant may come up in Chennai.

"We have been negotiating with the Tamil Nadu Federation of Milk Cooperatives and assured to provide them all help in setting up this plant. But alks are at a preliminary stage now," he said.