Export of casein, casein products opens under license: DGFT.

AHMEDABAD: Export of casein and casein products has been moved from the prohibited to restricted category. The export of casein would now be permitted under license said the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) notification.

The Union Agriculture Minister, Sharad Pawar has been making a strong pitch for casein export. The centre had banned exports of all milk powders (including SMP, whole milk powder, dairy whitener and infant milk foods ) , casein and casein products since February'2011 to ensure prices remained stable in the domestic market.

Casein is used for nutritional enhancement in food and in production of variety of cheese worldwide. To manufacture one kg of casein three kg of SMP is required. The Indian Casein Manufacturers Association {ICMA} welcomed the central government decision.

"The export dependent industry was lying closed for last fifteen months. The industry has suffered irreparable loss but hope to re-establish its position in the international markets soon,"said Modern Dairies Limited, promoter and ICMA-member,Krishan Goyal.

Earlier in an interaction with ET, Mr Pawar had said that with a bumper milk production in the country this year and tremendous supply of SMP there was sufficient inventory in the country to open the export. India, the world's largest milk producer, currently has an annual production of about 121.8 million tonnes.

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com