Gas crunch has slowed milk pouch production: Dairies

Mumbai: Milk distribution could become the next casualty of the ongoing LPG crisis. Pasteurisation requires a continuous supply of fuel, be it LPG or piped gas. There is a palpable shortage of packaging material including pouches and polythene bags.Moreover, bulk buyers like hotels and restaurants have reduced consumption of milk, causing dairies to dispose of stocks at cheap rates.Devendra Shah, founder chairman of Gowardhan Dairy, said, "Milk pouches and cartons are not available because manufacturing industries are not receiving gas to produce these items. We have stocks only to last 10 days."Sharib Shaikh who manages Suresh Dairy in Chembur, said, "There is a shortage of plastic bags and if it continues we will face a crisis in 10 days. All input costs including transportation have risen."Tabela owners and dairies are worried because their regular bulk buyers—hotels, restaurants and other institutional clients—have slowed down or halted purchase of buffalo and cow milk due to closure.C K Singh, chairman of the Bombay Milk Producers Association, who also runs a milk shop, said, "On Friday, three bulk orders totalling 230 kg of buffalo milk were stopped. One of my customers buys 150 kg, another 50 kg, and another 30 kg. We are being forced to sell stock at half rate in the open market. Small dairies cannot even store more than a certain capacity. What do we do with the excess milk?"Rishi Joshi of Shree Narayan Dairy, Vile Parle, said, "We manufacture milk byproducts like basundi and shrikhand. Now Gudi Padwa is around the corner which is a big occasion for business. But we are unable to make these items. I have installed an electric boiler to prepare paneer, still it is not an adequate replacement for gas."TOI spoke to several dairies across the city which said the situation would aggravate if the LPG scarcity continued.The silver lining is that Amul, India's largest dairy, manufactures its own packaging material and is not facing a shortage of milk either. MD Jayen Mehta said, "Amul handles 350 lakh litres of milk every day. Our dairy plants in Gujarat get 80% of the gas requirements. The balance energy requirements are being met by the use of LDO (diesel) and other fuel options. There is no disruption in supply of Amul milk or milk products because of this support from the govt."Mehta added, "We have no shortage of packing material. We manufacture our own packaging film for milk, dahi and buttermilk pouches. It is almost five crore pouches each day."A spokesperson for Mother Dairy said, "Our milk pasteurisation operation uses PNG and other fuels, and at present we do not foresee any shortage."