After hospitality and food commerce sectors, will the ongoing uncertainty surrounding LPG supply also impact the dairy industry? Several Maharashtra-based dairies have flagged concerns over slowdown in milk
processing and pasteurisation as well as shortage of milk packets and cartons whose production has reportedly been hit by the energy crisis triggered by the US-Israel-Iran war in West Asia.
News18 Marathi has quoted several dairy operators and owners as saying that factories producing milk packets and cartons aren’t getting enough supply of gas, affecting production, which has in turn caused a shortage within the milk production industry.
Devendra Shah, founder and president of Govardhan Dairy, said milk packets and cartons are not easily available right now because the factories making them don’t have sufficient gas supply. He added current supplies would only last 10 days.
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The demand for milk from hotels, restaurants, and wholesale customers has also decreased, with many commercial kitchens having to scale down menus amid the LPG supply shortage. As a result, local diaries are reportedly being forced to sell buffalo and cow milk at lower prices.
Sharib Sheikh, manager of Suresh Dairy in Chembur, also confirmed the shortage of plastic packets, adding that the dairy industry could face a big crisis in the next 10 days if supply doesn’t return to normal levels soon.
CK Singh, president of the Bombay Milk Producers Association, said three big orders for buffalo milk were recently cancelled, and the stored milk had to be sold at lower prices as a result. Small dairies can’t store much milk, so they face bigger problems.
Not all dairy producers, however, seem to be affected. Jayen Mehta, managing director of Amul, said the milk cooperative processes about 35 million litres of milk daily. About 80% of their gas needs are reportedly met, and the rest is covered by diesel and other fuels. Amul also doesn’t have a shortage of packaging materials because they make their own packets for milk and curd items.
Mother Dairy, another dairy giant, too uses PNG and other fuels at their processing centers.
