Anand: Expressing his happiness over India’s recent decision to not to join the mega free trade agreement – Regional Comprehensive Partnership Agreement (RCEP) - Managing Director of GCMMF Ltd (AMUL) RS Sodhi said the timely decision of the government would help protect interests of the Indian dairy industry against unfair competition.
In an exclusive interview to ETV Bharat, Sodhi said “In India, dairy or milk-producing is not a business or trade like in New Zealand and Australia, it is a source of livelihood for 100 million people in India. We are extremely happy that the government of India has agreed with whatever suggestions we have made and equally encouraged the dairy farmers to continue to produce more.”
In a letter written to Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in July last, Sodhi cautioned the government about the adverse impacts of RCEP and urged the government not to sign it.
No impact of economic slowdown
When asked about the impact of the current slowdown in the Indian economy on the dairy industry, Sodhi said that the economic slowdown has not affected the dairy industry or the consumption of milk at all.
Across all product categories, we registered a growth of double-digit in the last seven months. I expect in future demand for dairy products continues to grow. In fact, this is the reason the dairy-rich countries like Australia and New Zealand want to enter the Indian market.
On foreign investments in dairy industry
Giving more clarity on his views on allowing foreign investments into the dairy sector, he said "we are not against foreign investments, technology into this sector…the only thing we want is that they should procure milk from Indian farmers".
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