11/9/13

Amul calls for a relook at EU-India Free Trade Agreement - Economic Times

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You are here: Home > Collections > Fta

Amul calls for a relook at EU-India Free Trade Agreement

Shramana Ganguly, ET Bureau Mar 27, 2013, 12.54AM IST

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NEW DELHI: The co-operative federation that sparked India's milk revolution has warned the government that allowing imports of cheaper, subsidised dairy products from Europe could adversely impact the livelihoods of 3.2 million domestic dairy farmers and hurt consumers. Better known by its brand name Amul, the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) has written to commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma that the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union (EU) must ensure that the economic and commercial rights of farmers and consumers are not compromised.

(EU subsidises their milk)

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The EU wants to export dairy products to India, the world's largest producer and consumer of milk, and has sought a concessional duty rate for cheese imports in the FTA, which is now in the final stage of negotiations. If incorporated into the pact, the EU demand would threaten cheese brands such as Amul Gouda and Amul Emmental that were developed in partnership with the Swiss government. "The EU is actually anticipating a huge market opportunity once the comprehensive free trade agreement is ratified...We are afraid that by entering into FTA with EU, India's export may increase slightly to EU, but imports will grow much more," GCMMF managing director RS Sodhi wrote to the commerce minister, urging him to put up a counter case to protect the commercial and economic rights of farmers and consumers. India's largest dairy co-operative has pointed out that EU has the highest number of geographical indicators (GIs) for which it is seeking 'extra protection' beyond the rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). But EU is neither willing for any GI protection to India's Lassi or Paneer, nor is it refusing to stop the bio-piracy of India's traditional knowledge like Ayurveda and resources like Neem, Amul has noted. The EU also doesn't allow import of Indian dairy products, citing its strict sanitary and phyto-sanitary standards, which are nothing but a non-tariff barrier. "In entire EU, one can find Indian products like 'paneer' and 'lassi' being manufactured or marketed by local people. These are ethnic Indian products and India can actually claim similar GI protection," GCMMF's managing director RS Sodhi has told Sharma in a letter reviewed by ET. "Essentially, EU is asking India to give more monopoly protection in areas where it has more intellectual

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Amul calls for a relook at EU-India Free Trade Agreement - Economic Times
property," Sodhi's letter stated, warning that this will cost Indian consumers as well as dairy producers who are in the nascent stage of agro-food processing industry. EU provides very high subsidy to dairy producers, whose farm size is usually 500 cows per shed compared to the 2-3 cows maintained by India's predominantly smaller dairy farmers, Amul has stressed. "They can dump such subsidised product at lower rate if market access is granted to them," Sodhi wrote. India already allows free imports of cheese with a basic import duty of 30% and further concessions will not be 'logical' as cheese is usually consumed by 'more affluent' consumers, the co-operative has argued.

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Amul calls for a relook at EU-India Free Trade Agreement - Economic Times
Readers' opinions (7)
Sort by: Newest | Oldest Ramalingam (india coimbatore 1) 27 Mar, 2013 12:14 PM now politicans and political parties enter AmuL also, like 71/2 sani, will never leave them , why not ban politicans and political parties for reduceing 'Gdp' of india, and black money not come back to india. Colonel Ajay Ahlawat (Sariska) 27 Mar, 2013 11:30 AM MILK Synthetic milk is prepared by mixing Urea- Urea are added for solid-not-fat (SNF). Since its taste is disgusting , it is blended with natural milk Caustic soda- Caustic soda is added to the blended milk to neutralize the acidity, thereby preventing it from turning sour during transport Cheap cooking oil- to increase fat content. Common detergents- Detergents are added to emulsify and dissolve the oil in water giving the frothy solution, the characteristic white color of milk Refined oil is used as a substitute for milk fat and increase SNF value Industrial starch, used to give it a thick, rich texture Glucose- to pass the test of ph value Pond water- To add volume. Sugar-to mask the awaful taste of caustic soda and urea Formalin - It's highly carcinogenic, naturally milk can not be stored more than 2 hrs, formalin chemical which is used to preserve dead bodies is added to ensure it can last for 24 hrs and more without refrigeration. Oxytocin- Most commonly used and milk sellers also inject the cows and buffalos with Oxytocin to make them produce more milk, This drastically decreases the life of the animals but increases production by 10-15%. Synthetic milk has cancerous properties .The cost of preparing synthetic milk is Rs.5/litre and it is sold for upto Rs 60 per litre. Synthetic milk is not milk but an entirely different factory made substance. It is no longer a matter of water added to real milk but an entirely new industrial product. ---Rissalapolo ally (delhi) 27 Mar, 2013 10:50 AM The milk man who now buys an SUV and organizes a helicopter to drop his sons wedding invitations is not rich because he sold his one acre near Delhi. That is the common misconception about all the suddenly hugely rich dairy owners of North India. The truth is, that these milk sheikhs are running a parallel non milk empire. (until very strict punishments are put into place nothing will change.) "U never send sheep to kill a wolf." mohan (chennai) replies to Ramalingam 27 Mar, 2013 02:31 PM who will run the country if they are banned? Who will ban public for taking money to elect them and not taking effort to identify good candidates and to campaign for them free of cost or with their own money? Blamming politicians for everything is like hiding away from our responsibilities. They only fill the gap we provided with poison..mistake is ours as well - general public... we take more time for IPL than corruption and elections. Aseem (Toronto) 27 Mar, 2013 03:32 AM It would be pathetic to see Amul made to compete with these dairy companies that make products subsidized, genetically modified and based on corn/alternate feed.. Shame if the govt moves ahead... N. C. (India) 27 Mar, 2013 02:51 AM There is no butter like Amul butter. Even in UK or US, the pavbhaji we make at home is not complete without the Amul butter. India should protect Amul from unnecessary hazards. If government really wants to free up the market, there are other markets which wont play with nutrition. Foreign products may be cheap but they all are genetically modified to give better yield. If your food doesnt rot in few days, it is bad for the body. Dont give subsidy but atleast dont throw Amul to dogs. READ ALL COMMENTS

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