Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) which allow liberalised import of milk could cripple the domestic dairy sector and derail Kerala’s efforts to achieve self-sufficiency in milk production, Minister for Dairy Development K. Raju has said.
Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, the Minister said the State had urged the Centre for steps to protect the interests of dairy farmers while going ahead with trade treaties. FTAs, he said, had emerged as a matter of concern at a time when the State had embarked on an ambitious programme to strengthen the domestic dairy sector.
“The State government has already taken up the issue with the Centre. We have called for including milk on the negative list of imports and imposing maximum import duty on dairy products.”
Curbs on cattle trade
Mr. Raju said the new restrictions on cattle trade imposed by the Central government would also affect the dairy sector in Kerala. The rules made it difficult for farmers to buy high yielding cows from neighbouring States.
Terming the notification unconstitutional and a covert attempt by the Centre to dictate dietary habits, he said it would affect the livelihood of dairy farmers.
The Minister said the new rules would also affect the functioning of the new hi-tech abattoir and meat processing plant set up by the public sector Meat Products of India near Koothattukulam. “The facility that can slaughter and process 300 cattle a day will be forced to scale down operations.”
Self-sufficiency
The government, he said, had accelerated efforts to achieve self-sufficiency in milk production by 2018. The objective was to enhance production from the current 27 lakh tonnes to 31 lakh tonnes, taking the per capita availability to 250 grams a day.
Development of milk sheds and dairy zones, financial aid for milk cooperatives and projects for fodder cultivation and quality control were being stepped up to achieve the target, he added.
Governor P. Sathasivam is scheduled to inaugurate the World Milk Day celebrations here on Thursday. A workshop on milk production will be held as part of the event.
