Fonterra concerned over India milk protests

Friday 30th July 2010 1 Comment

Fonterra said it is concerned about protests in India over imports of New Zealand dairy products and is consulting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade over the issue.

Members of the Hindu nationalist party Shiv Sena attacked a milk tanker at Pune, south of Mumbai this week, spilling milk in protest at the National Dairy Development Board's importation of 30,000 tonnes of milk powder and 15,000 tonnes of ghee from New Zealand.

Some 50,000 litres of milk was spilled this week, according to India Today, which said the political party and local farmers were angry at the prospect of imported milk competing with home-grown product. Local purchases of milk had been cut by 20%, the report said. The attack was the second in as many weeks, after 45,000 litres of milk was dumped in Satara by a farmer group linked to Shiv Sena.

“The matter is one for the Indian authorities to manage and we are confident they will do so appropriately,” a spokesman for Fonterra said in a statement.

Media reports in India say the group has threatened to set fire to a ship carrying more New Zealand dairy products that is scheduled to arrive next month.

Businesswire.co.nz

Comments from our readers

On 31 July 2010 at 5:59 pm In the Trade said:

This is news to me. We are being pressured to drop our prices to compete with the local market, and with EU dumping into India. Not our fault, NZ suppliers are being screwed from both sides. This market typically plays both ends against the middle and the Indian distributors reap the profits.