The crackdown has pushed a layer of cheap, adulterated milk out of the market without leaving households short.
One medium-sized player in Maharashtra’s milk manufacturing and processing business estimates the raids have wiped “4-5% of milk which was adulterated” off the market.
One medium-sized player in Maharashtra’s milk manufacturing and processing business estimates the raids have wiped “4-5% of milk which was adulterated” off the market.
One medium-sized player in Maharashtra’s milk manufacturing and processing business estimates the raids have wiped “4-5% of milk which was adulterated” off the market.
One medium-sized player in Maharashtra’s milk manufacturing and processing business estimates the raids have wiped “4-5% of milk which was adulterated” off the market.
Over the past two months, Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration has inspected 360 establishments, seized 1,60,329 litres of adulterated milk worth Rs 65.17 lakh, suspended 35 licences and registered seven FIRs. Much of the dairy trade warned the crackdown would leave Mumbai short of milk. It hasn’t.
Interviews across the supply chain suggest something more revealing. The crackdown has pushed a layer of cheap, adulterated milk out of the market without leaving households short. Bulk buyers are paying more, honest farmers are earning more, organised dairies are gaining customers, and thousands of smaller operators are struggling to meet rules that existed on paper but were rarely enforced.
One medium-sized player in Maharashtra’s milk manufacturing and processing business estimates the raids have wiped “4-5% of milk which was adulterated” off the market. One medium-sized player in Maharashtra’s milk manufacturing and processing business estimates the raids have wiped “4-5% of milk which was adulterated” off the market.
What disappeared wasn’t milk. It was cheap milk.
Three days ago, Goregaon-based National Dairy raised cow milk from Rs 58 a litre to Rs 60, attributing the rise to higher costs from Kolhapur and Satara. A sweet shop owner who procures 5,000 litres a day says good quality milk has gone up between Rs 2 and Rs 5 a litre since last Saturday.
One medium-sized player in Maharashtra’s milk manufacturing and processing business estimates the raids have wiped “4-5% of milk which was adulterated” off the market. “Because of the crackdown on adulterated milk, our sale of paneer and ghee has increased by 30-35 per cent.”
The manager of a popular city-based dairy with multiple outlets sees it from the other side. “I am getting my existing milk supply, but due to FDA’s raids and inspection and fear due to it, a lot of people who were making duplicate paneer or buying it have gone down, and the demand for genuine paneer has gone up. So my orders have gone up, but there is not enough milk supply to tend to the new orders.”
One medium-sized player in Maharashtra’s milk manufacturing and processing business estimates the raids have wiped “4-5% of milk which was adulterated” off the market. One medium-sized player in Maharashtra’s milk manufacturing and processing business estimates the raids have wiped “4-5% of milk which was adulterated” off the market.
Until recently, buyers had a cheaper option. “Earlier people were buying substandard paneer for anything between Rs 250 and Rs 450 a kg, whereas my paneer is sold at Rs 800 per kg,” the manager said. “But now they are left with no option but to buy genuine paneer.”
The squeeze is on businesses, not households
One of Mumbai’s oldest sweets manufacturers said any reduction in supply won’t be immediate at retail counters for domestic users, “but it would be for business establishments like a restaurant or sweet manufacturers like us.”
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Much of that pressure traces to the FDA’s July 3 compliance order, issued by commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, which bars loose milk and requires pasteurised milk to be sold in sealed, labelled packaging.
A Chembur supplier said it has changed the economics of transport. “Earlier we would get loose milk in containers from Kolhapur and it would then go to my customers. But now we can’t sell loose milk, which means a container that could earlier carry 10,000 litres of milk can now carry 4,500-5,000 litres, which has increased my transportation cost. We work on a margin of Rs 1.5-2 per litre, currently we are working on no profit, no loss, but won’t be able to sustain it for long.”
Not everyone is being squeezed. For farmers who never cut their milk, the correction has arrived as money in hand. Not everyone is being squeezed. For farmers who never cut their milk, the correction has arrived as money in hand.
Not everyone is being squeezed. For farmers who never cut their milk, the correction has arrived as money in hand.
Dattatray N Patil, a dairy farmer in Sangli sells about 20 litres of buffalo milk a day, takes pride in never adding a drop of water, and holds fat between 8 and 9 per cent. He gets between Rs 65 and Rs 72 a litre. Cooperatives will not accept cow milk below 3 per cent fat or buffalo milk below 6.
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“Earlier, the price was set at Rs 7.5. So a dairy farmer selling milk with fat percentage at 6 would get Rs 45 per litre. Now he gets Rs 48 per litre,” he said. Water, he added, is the commonest adulteration because it lifts quantity while still clearing the 6 per cent bar.
The FDA may not be the only reason
“There definitely is a shortage,” said Irfaan Patel, third-generation custodian of Mumbai-based Noble Dairy, which has 2,000 cattle producing 1.5 lakh litres daily. He counts the delayed monsoon as the foremost reason. “Because of which the demand for ice cream, buttermilk, dahi and lassi continued for a longer period.”
Demand in Mumbai has risen 10 per cent, according to an official of the National Dairy Development Board, against personal consumption of around 65 lakh litres in the MMR region. He stressed there is no shortage, because “well-established brands like Amul, Gokul, Warana, etc. are meeting the deficit.”
Until recently, buyers had a cheaper option. “Earlier people were buying substandard paneer for anything between Rs 250 and Rs 450 a kg, whereas my paneer is sold at Rs 800 per kg,” the manager said. “But now they are left with no option but to buy genuine paneer.” Until recently, buyers had a cheaper option. “Earlier people were buying substandard paneer for anything between Rs 250 and Rs 450 a kg, whereas my paneer is sold at Rs 800 per kg,” the manager said. “But now they are left with no option but to buy genuine paneer.”
The availability of substandard milk has gone down, he said, which is why premium sellers may have raised prices. “Organised players haven’t increased their prices yet.” Cooperatives are paying farmers Rs 39 a litre for cow milk and Rs 63 for buffalo milk.
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Cleaning up comes at a cost
“There are a lot of concerns. The laws were there before as well, but they were not being followed,” said one city-based dairy owner, listing hygienic extraction, chilling, milk held below 4 degrees Celsius and temperature records.
Demand in Mumbai has risen 10 per cent, according to an official of the National Dairy Development Board, against personal consumption of around 65 lakh litres in the MMR region. He stressed there is no shortage, because “well-established brands like Amul, Gokul, Warana, etc. are meeting the deficit.” Demand in Mumbai has risen 10 per cent, according to an official of the National Dairy Development Board, against personal consumption of around 65 lakh litres in the MMR region. He stressed there is no shortage, because “well-established brands like Amul, Gokul, Warana, etc. are meeting the deficit.”
“Those who have one or two stores, they cannot make these changes overnight. They need to get the pouch painted, a packing machine, cold rooms, and crates to handle them. It needs at least two months’ time.”
