May import dairy products only if situation warrants: Govt

India may import dairy derivatives such as fat and powder only in case the situation warrants in order to help dairy cooperatives to meet the summer demands Ministry of Fisheries Animal Husbandry and Dairying said in a release Thursday eveningThe ministry also said in case of imports are needed the government will ensure that it is routed only through its agency National Dairy Development Board NDDB and the needy will be given the stocks at the market price after proper assessmentThe government though conceded that there has been some demand and supply gap observed in the dairy sector primarily due to increased demand for nutritious safe and hygienic milk and milk products postCOVID19 pandemicThis comes after MP Sharad Pawar in a letter addressed to Minister of Animal Husbandry Dairying and Fisheries Purushottam Rupala cited a media report on possible imports saying any decision by the central government would be totally unacceptable because the import of these products will directly affect the income of the domestic milk producersAlso Read Two crossborder narco smugglers arrested in Srinagar 1108 kg heroin recoveredThe dairy farmers have recently come out of the unprecedented COVID19 crisis and such a decision will severely impede the revival process of the dairy sector My concern may please be heeded I shall be happy if the matter is looked into and the Ministry deters itself from taking any decision to import the milk products Pawar said in a tweet attaching his letter to the minister and the news article he referred toTo meet the growing demand and considering the fact that the supply of milk in the ensuing summer season being a lean season may be less there were demands from several dairy cooperatives for the import of milk fat and powderWith this background NDDB along with the government of India has been monitoring the demandsupply situation Since the process of import takes time the necessary back end processes are being put in place to timely manage the situation in case of any eventuality the ministrys release saidEarly preparation according to the government will ensure that the market is not distorted and the interests of Indias dairy farmer is protected which it said is paramount and central to any decision taken by the governmentThe article that Honble MP Shri Sharad Pawar ji is referring to in his letter addressed to Minister of Animal Husbandry Dairying and Fisheries Shri Purushottam Rupala which is available in public domain only states that a decision will be taken after watching the demandsupply position later in the summer which inter alia means that no final decision has been taken in this regard the ministry further saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever