Milk prices risen, but no supply shortage of dairy products; consumers need not worry: Rupala

New Delhi: The government on Tuesday asserted that there is no shortage of milk and other dairy products in the country, although milk prices have risen in recent months.

Animal Husbandry, Fishery and Dairying Minister Parshottam Rupala, while briefing media on the Modi government's achievements in the last nine years, said the sector is likely to grow at 7 per cent in 2023-23 fiscal against over 6 per cent in 2022-23.

"I will definitely admit that there has been an increase in milk prices...Government is trying its best to address the problem by increasing milk production and availability," he said.

Leading milk suppliers like Amul and Mother Dairy have hiked prices of milk multiple times in the last one year, citing increasing procurement costs of milk from farmers. For instance, Mother Dairy has increased milk prices by Rs 10 per litre between March and December 2022.

Stressing that there is no shortage of milk and milk products in the country, Rupala said that recently, there were reports of shortage, but that issue was "created", and the ground reality is different.

"Our total milk collection is not more than 35 per cent. This means, there are still a lot of supplies in our own country, which we have not tapped. We are making efforts to tap it. We will tap this and boost the supply," he added.

Asked if imports are required in the coming months, Rupala said, "For consumers, there is no need to worry about the shortage of milk and milk products".

There is no possibility of facing any shortage in the supply and stock of milk. The country has enough quantity of skimmed milk powder and the milk chain is functioning smoothly, he added.

The minister, however, did not give a timeline for any reduction in milk prices.

When asked about fodder shortage leading to a rise in prices, the minister shared that the government is providing subsidies under a new scheme to improve the availability of fodder. It is a major input cost for farmers.

Milk production in India, the world's largest producer, rose by 83 million tonnes to (221 million tonnes) in the last nine years. Per capita consumption has also increased to 449 grams in 2022 from 303 grams in 2014, he added.

On the sector's growth, the minister said the animal, fishery and dairying sector is growing at a fast pace and is expected to grow at 7 per cent in the ongoing 2023-23 fiscal against over 6 per cent in 2022-23.

Sharing the achievements of his ministry in the last nine years, Rupala said that the launch of 'mobile veterinary units' stands out for him as the best initiative out of several steps taken in this sector that is changing the face of the livestock sector.

Out of 4,240 mobile veterinary units approved, 1,181 units are operational. These units are helpful in treating livestock animals at doorsteps and providing vaccination, he said.

Livestock vaccination, Rupala said, is another milestone initiative of the government helping to address animal health.

The government is promoting the production of milk in the country through several programmes like artificial insemination, IVF (In Vitro Fertilization), sex-sorted semen technology and vaccination, he added.