Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The government has allowed exports of casein and its products,a value added milk item,meeting the long-pending demand of Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and the dairy industry.
8220;Export of casein and casein products has been moved from prohibited to restricted category. Export of casein is now permitted under licence,8221; Directorate General of Foreign Trade DGFT said in a notification.
The government had banned exports of casein and milk powder in February last year,after the country had experienced a shortfall of the important food commodity.
Recently,Pawar had shot off a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying that Centre8217;s policy towards milk and milk products has been 8220;ambivalent8221; and demanded opening of exports of skimmed milk powder and casein.
The country had exported milk powder and casein worth Rs 500 crore in the 2009-10 fiscal. The main markets for the products are Japan and Europe.
India,the world8217;s largest milk producer,has an annual production of about 121.8 million tonnes.
Casein is a protein compound extracted from milk. About 30-35 litres of milk is required to produce 1 kg of casein.
