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Vinod Mathew

AN UNTIMELY milk shortage in Delhi, even as pretty much the rest of the country seems to be milching on merrily, seems to have got the goat of some of the leading proponents of White Revolution. Though the battlefield is Delhi, the address of the protagonists in this drama reads Anand, Gujarat. And the battle for the milk constituency has entered a new phase with the largest milk-producing country in the world set to witness large-scale import of milk after a short break.

The issue has been sorted out at least for the time being with the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) proposing to import some milk and route some more to meet the deficit situation that faces Mother Dairy in Delhi. The flip side is that this milk powder import may not be targeted at solving the current imbroglio but to create a `strategic reserve' of skimmed milk powder (SMP) in the country.

One could trade charges as to whether the milk powder import is justified till the cows come home. Meanwhile, the one question that seeks an answer pertains to the preparedness or the lack of it by those who were in charge of the Delhi milk logistics. Dr Amrita Patel, Chairman, NDDB, has sought to pin the problem down to a sudden spurt in demand of 4.5 lakh litres and a shortfall in procurement coupled with more consumption by the milk producers in villages.

Dr V. Kurien, Chairman, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), known for his candid views on most issues, is having none of this.

He has questioned the style of functioning of some five NDDB subsidiaries carrying the label of Mother Dairy in Delhi. He is understood to have asked the Delhi Chief Minister to investigate whether the present shortage was not precipitated by the indiscreet diversion of liquid milk into value-added products by these entities.

The Amul chief has questioned the NDDB's compulsion to import milk at a time when the country is set to enter the flush season in a matter of 30 days. It is baffling that the NDDB has chosen to take only 5,000 tonnes of Amul milk powder and import an additional 6,000 tonnes. This is against a firm offer by GCMMF to supply 10,000 tonnes of SMP to the NDDB-Mother Dairy combine over the next three months, he says.

"Anyway, I cannot make out what NDDB's present grouch is. They have totally mismanaged the show in Delhi and the shortfall is being met by Amul which is supplying this three lakh litres daily to the Delhi Milk Scheme (DMS). Now, to say that they are importing milk because Amul did not have ready stock of 10,000 tonnes of SMP is not on. Apparently, there is still only one Kamadhenu in the country no matter who tries to do what — joint ventures or not," Dr Kurien told Business Line.

According to Mr B. M. Vyas, Managing Director, GCMMF, imported milk powder from Europe cannot reach India before September-end. To that extent, it would be too late to resolve the present crisis in Delhi, as by that time, the Indian flush season for milk would have begun. In case the SMP reaches India within the next fortnight, it would mean that the order was placed much earlier and not in the last couple of days as is being made out, he added.

Clearly, the storm in the milk land seems to show no signs of abating as the next debate will revolve around whether the present import of milk powder by the NDDB will lead to a fall in prices for the Indian farmer, come October. And the milk will indeed turn sour if the Indian farmer across the length and breadth of the country is made to suffer on account of a spat in faraway Anand.

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