India Govt allows casein exports

New Delhi, May 3 (PTI) The Indian government has allowed exports of casein and its products, a value added milk item, meeting a long-pending demand of Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and the dairy industry. "Export of casein and casein products has been moved from prohibited to restricted category. Export of casein is now permitted under licence," Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification. The government had banned exports of casein and milk powder in February last year, after the country had experienced a shortfall of the important food commodity. Recently, Pawar had shot off a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying that Centre's policy towards milk and milk products has been "ambivalent" and demanded opening of exports of skimmed milk powder and casein. The country had exported milk powder and casein worth Rupees 5.0 billion (nearly USD 100 million) in the 2009-10 fiscal. The main markets for the products are Japan and Europe. India with an annual production of about 121.8 million tonnes is the world's largest milk producer. Casein is a protein compound extracted from milk. About 30-35 litres of milk is required to produce 1 kg of casein. PTI