“If the Government is really keen to keep milk prices under check, it should discourage export of ingredients and extractions used in the manufacture of cattlefeed. We are not asking for an outright ban, but only a 20 per cent export tax so that our dairy farmers get cattlefeed at affordable rates,” said Mr B.M. Vyas, Managing Director, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF).

For the latest week ended April 19, the wholesale price index (WPI) for oilcakes registered a year-on-year rise of 32.57 per cent, with these amounting to 45.43 per cent for rape and mustard cake, 30.30 per cent for groundnut cake and 41.67 per cent for de-oiled cake. These, in turn, have resulted in an annual increase of 14.46 per cent in the Wholesale Price Index for cattle-feed.

“We were supplying compounded cattlefeed to our farmers last year at about Rs 5,500 a tonne. But with ingredient costs going up considerably, the price of cattlefeed today is over Rs 7,000 a tonne,” Mr Vyas added. On the other hand, the WPI for milk has gone up by 9.32 per cent, which is much below the increase recorded for cattle-feed and oil-meals.

Source: Hindu Business Line