Casein exports will benefit Indian farmers, say dairy makers

 New Delhi, May 2 - The government's decision to allow exports of casein and its products, a value added milk item, will benefit farmers, dairy products makers said today.

 ÒIt's a welcome step. We have been demanding lifting curb from outbound shipment of casein for long,Ó R S Sodhi, the Managing Director of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, which sells products under the Amul brand, said.

 Sodhi said the government should have lifted prohibition from export of milk powder also as the country is having surplus milk production presently.

 ÒIt will be advantageous for farmers,Ó Narendra Nagar, Director (Operation), Paras, said.
 He said the decision would have no bearing on consumers but will prove beneficial for the dairy farmers.
 Indian Dairy Association President N R Bhasin said, ÒWe neither welcome it nor are opposed to it.Ó ÒIf casein stock available with producers is allowed to export then there is no problem. However, if manufacturing of casein for exports is started then it could lead to shortage of milk. We think casein import in limited quantity should be allowed,Ó he added.

 The Government had banned exports of casein and milk powder in February last year, after the country experienced a shortfall of the important food commodity.

 Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) today issued a notification allowing export of casein and casein products, a long pending demand of Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and the dairy industry.
 Casein is a protein compound extracted from milk.

Proposed Dairy Policy: Taxpayers Would Pay More, Get Less Return

Neediest To Go Without Nutritious Dairy Products

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19, 2011 - A new study of the impacts of proposed dairy policy legislation on federal nutrition programs has found millions of dollars in hidden costs. Behind typical estimates of the price of the National Milk Producers Federation's Foundation for the Future dairy policy proposal are large and unintended additional taxpayer costs, reductions in the effectiveness of federal nutrition programs, and reduced access to the programs for low-income women and children.

The study, commissioned by the International Dairy Foods Association and conducted by a Ph.D. economist at M + R Strategic Services, found that, had the program been in place in 2009, more than 178,000 qualifying participants would have lost access to the already strained Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, unless $92 million more in spending was appropriated. The proposals would also have affected USDA's donation programs for food banks and senior centers. An estimated 50 million fewer pounds of cheese would have been available to the commodity distribution programs had the policies been in place in 2009.

"With one in six Americans currently living in poverty, we need a cost-effective federal safety net more than ever," said Connie Tipton, president and CEO of IDFA. "This report shows that Foundation for the Future and Rep. Collin Peterson's proposal would impose unnecessary hidden costs on taxpayers and would significantly reduce our nation's ability to help those who are most in need."

Using the Food and Agricultural Research Policy Institute (FAPRI) analysis of the Dairy Market Stabilization Program and the NMPF estimate of the effect of its proposed changes to Federal Milk Marketing Orders on (beverage) milk prices, the report found that the hidden costs of the proposal's price increases on the federal nutrition assistance programs and their beneficiaries would have totaled $655 million in 2009 alone. Taxpayers also would have been hit with a previously unrecognized $379 million increase in federal spending triggered by mandatory inflationary adjustments in the nutrition programs.

"The increased costs to the federal government are several times larger than any alleged budgetary savings from the Foundation for the Future," noted Tipton. "NMPF is asking Congress to shift the costs of their proposal onto our nation's consumers, but they apparently forgot that our government buys a lot of milk."