Demand-supply mismatch

The crisis in the dairy sector, which has been brewing for over a year due to stagnant milk output and a spurt in the demand for milk products, may come to a head in the coming summer months if timely action is not taken to augment supplies through imports. While the country’s milk output has increased by just around 1 per cent in 2022-23, its requirement has swelled by 8-10 per cent, causing a severe demand-supply mismatch for the first time in over a decade. Consequently, milk prices have soared by about 15 per cent and the availability of products like butter and ghee has been gravely constrained. The shortage of butter has been reported in Delhi and its adjoining markets catered for by state-owned Mother Dairy and several big milk suppliers, including the cooperative sector giant, Amul. The southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and poll-bound Karnataka, on the other hand, are experiencing the scarcity of liquid milk as well. As the summer advances and intensifies, th