Saarc Oils & Fats Today- Janury Issue

January 2013, SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY

Contents Editorial Chief EDITOR S. Jafar Naqvi Consulting Editors T.V. Satyanarayanan K Dharmarajan

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Cover Story l FDI in Multi-Brand Retailing in India

Challenges and the Way Forward

— Vijay Sardana

l PAU Golden Jubilee Convocation

Editorial Co-ordinator: Syed M K

News Editor : Anwar Huda

l FDI in retail will kill small industries: Sushma Swaraj l Global retail giants will destroy small traders, says S. Narayan

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PM asks Punjab to take advantage of FDI 23 23

General Manager: Lalitha V Rajan Production: Mohd. Iqbal Hyderabad 9248669027 mediatodayhyd@yahoo.com Mumbai 9702903993 mumbai.office@mediatoday.in Bangalore 9342185915 bangalore.office@mediatoday.in Pune 9881137397 pune@mediatoday.in

v POV l Wishing you all a Happy & Prosperous Oil-Year 2013

l China’s latest quality norm unnerve palm traders

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— Ishi Khosla

Oils l Canola Oil

The most profitable commodity for Canadian farmers

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— G Chandrashekhar

v Fats l Fats Watch: The bad and the good

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— Vijay Data , President, SEA

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Pre-Event

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l AOCS Oils and Fats

l OFI Middle East 2013

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v Dairy l The next white revolutionaries

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— Harish Damodaran

l National Aspects of Improving Health in Dairy Animals

‘Saarc Oils & Fats Today’ T-30, Ist Floor, Khirki Extn., Malviya Nagar, New Delhi - 110017 E-mail : MediaTodayMails@gmail.com

SAARC OILS & FATS Today, January 2013

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— N.K.S. Gowda and K.T. Sampath

l Hatsun Agro Vol. 15..... ISSUE 4..... January 2013

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World Market Update and Industry Expo 2013

The problem of plenty was a blessing in disguise

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News

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— R.G. Chandramogan

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Editorial O

ne of the recommendations of the Golden Jubilee Convention, organized by COOIT (Central Organisation for Oil Industry and Trade), is that the government should consider the feasibility of cultivating genetically modified oilseeds to augment domestic production of edible oils and thus reduce the volume of oil imports going up by leaps and bounds.

Genetically Modified (GM) crop technology, however, is an issue which has triggered a big debate, not only in this country but also elsewhere in the world, the like of which, probably, has not been seen on any subject of farmer- interest in recent years. The government, parliament, and even the Supreme Court in this country, besides bodies and organizations of all stakeholders are involved in this debate, so much so that an objective observer is pushed to a position very much similar to the much-quoted predicament of Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark – “To be, or not to be” (a GM supporter).

Will the GM technology for food crops help solve the growing problem of hunger, or will it cause health-safety problems for the consumers?

While Bt cotton – considered as a non-food crop, though its seeds do produce edible oil – has gained utmost popularity in India’s cotton growing areas, worldwide, there are only three other major commercial GM crops – soya, maize and canola. The GM crops controversy escalated in this country after field trials on Bt Brinjal were put on hold.

The debate has got an added thrust in the wake of an interim report by the Supreme Court-appointed Technical Expert Committee (TEC) on field trials of genetically modified crops. The committee, appointed by the Court following a public interest litigation, has suggested a 10-year moratorium on filed trials, since GMOs could pose risks, given nature of the technology and the state of regulatory affairs in the country.

TEC’s recommendations were stoutly opposed by the Consortium of India Farmers’ Associations, among others, which sent a memorandum to the Supreme

Court Judges requesting them to reject the panel report on the ground that it violated the fundamental rights of farmers. Field trials, the Consortium said, are essential part of research and the panel’s suggestion would defeat and nullify the scientific work done over the last 20 years by several public institutions in the country with a remarkable track record.

Another group of farmers argued that the answer to the problem lay in making the regulatory system more robust and not in stopping research on biotech crops.

Support for TEC’s report, however, has come from a large group of about 100 scientists. In an open letter to the apex court, the group has requested it to take a prudent, science-based and precautionary approach, taking into consideration the important analyses and recommendations of the expert committee. “This is important for upholding the scientific temper in India and most importantly, not losing the vision of humanity, while translating science into technologies.”

Several farmers’ unions have also backed the recommendations of the committee favouring a moratorium.

Experts are, in fact, sharply divided on the issue of adopting GM technology, particularly for food crops.

Opposing this concept is the Union of Concerned Scientists, which had argued in a report published in 2009 that after 20 years of research and 13 years of commercialization, GM crops “have failed to increase yields.”

Former Vice-Chairman of National Knowledge Commission Pushpa M Bhargava pointed out in a letter to the Prime Minister that the increasing health problems in the two American continents, where over 90 per cent of the world’s GM crops are grown, may be related to consumption of GM food.

Since the debate is evenly matched with top scientists and experts arguing passionately for and against GM crop technology, the Supreme Court has a tough task ahead. Let us wait to hear the court’s considered view.

Media Today Group wishes you all A Happy New Year.

Comments are welcome at: MediaTodayMails@gmail.com Views expressed by individuals and contributors in the magazine are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of “SAARC Oils & Fats Today” editorial board. The magazine does not accept any responsibility of any direct, indirect or consequential damage caused to any party due to views expressed by any one or more persons in the trade. All disputes are to be referred to Delhi Jurisdiction only.

.....Editor

January 2013, SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY

SAARC OILS & FATS Today, January 2013

Floriculture Today January 2013

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POV

SEA Golden Jubilee Year

The association plays a proactive & pivotal role in oils and oilseeds sector — Vijay Data , President, SEA Progress In Rabi Sowing latest report of Ministry of Agriculture on the progress of sowing of Rabi Oilseed crops indicates an increase in coveragearea by about five lakh hectares at 79.0 lakh hectares compared to 73.99 lakh hectares the same period of last year. Area under Rapeseed-Mustard has increased by about 2.0 lakh hectares and touched 63.6 lakh hectares. It is heartening to learn that area under Sunflower has more than doubled this year and reported at 6.6 lakh hectares compared to 3.2 lakh hectares during the same period of last year. Area under Groundnut has also increased by about 50,000 hectares compared to last year. The recent showers and cool temperature in Rajasthan and Northern India would be beneficial to the standing rapeseed crop. We can expect a reasonable size of crop of about 65 lakh tonnes of rapeseed-mustard compared to 58.8 lakh tonnes last year, provided the weather remains favourable.

Weightage of edible oils in Wholesale Price Index (WPI) - Need for revision In the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), weightage for edible oils is 3.04293 per cent under Food Articles as fixed in 2004-05.

The weightage is based on consumption and average price. Consumption pattern has totally changed in the last few years. Total consumption of edible oils during 2011-12 was approximately 167.0 lakh tonnes, out of which vanaspati consumption was just 11.0 lakh tonnes. i.e. nearly 6.5%. However, based on WPI 2004-05, the weightage percentage works out to be 23.50%. Similarly, current Palm 8

Oil consumption is nearly 40% of the total consumption of edible oils, however, the weightage is given hardly 0.41999% and the same is the case for other oils. There is wide variation in consumption pattern of various oils within edible oil group and its proportionate weightage.

The Association has requested the Government to examine and review the weightage of edible oils in WPI due to change in consumption pattern of Food Articles and also particularly weightage of individual oils within Edible Oil basket.

Due to this change on the basis of actual oils usage W.P.I. for edible oils will reflect correctly and would be on lower side as compared to existing structure.

Zero Percent Export Duty by Malaysia With effect from 1st January, 2013, Malaysian Government has abolished

SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY, January 2013

the duty free export quota for CPO and introduced a revised export tax structure.

The new structure lowers CPO export tax rate to between 4.5% and 8.5% depending upon CPO’s average price during the previous two months and if CPO price falls below Malaysian MYR 2,250, the duty would be zero percent. Average price of CPO between 10th November and 9th December, 2012 was approximately MYR 2,164, hence Malaysia has declared zero percent duty on CPO for the month of January. Malaysian exporters will take full advantage of zero tax to ship as much CPO as possible in January, 2013 to reduce their huge stocks of over 2.5 million tonnes. In this process, India being a large importer, shall become a dumping ground for CPO and we would not be surprised to see record import of CPO and RBD Palmolein during January,

POV the peak season itself, for crushing in India, This will have serious impact on price of domestic oils and oilseeds. Our oilseeds farmers will be in distress, just as the harvest of Mustard seed during Rabi season commences.

In view of this alarming development, SEA has alerted the Government and once again strongly pleaded to impose import duty of 10% on CPO and 20% on RBD Palmolein and RBD Palm Oil to avoid India from becoming a dumping ground for excessive stock of palm oil held by the producing countries.

Import of Cottonseed Oil Cottonseed Oil is very well accepted as a good cooking oil in India and is being sold at very moderate price. Last year, India produced about 350 lakh cotton bales and Cottonseed Oil production was about 12 lakh tonnes and was consumed in the country. This year due to deficit rains in the major cottonseed growing areas of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, production of cotton is expected to be around 300-310 lakh bales only and the cottonseed oil production is likely to reduce by more than 1.0 lakh tonnes to less than 11.0 lakh tonnes, necessitating import to bridge the gap. In case of other imported oils, FSSAI has described Standards as per Codex. However, as the Cottonseed Oil was not imported in past, standards for imported Cottonseed oil was not described earlier by PFA nor now

by FSSAI. The cotton seed oil which is available in International Market is not meeting the current FSSAI standard with respect to Iodine Value specification although meeting Codex Standards. Iodine Value is just a Quality parameter and not the safety parameter of oil and fats. Further, Iodine Value is based on origin of oil and importer cannot change it since this is a naturally occurring quality. In short, in case of cotton seed oil, the Codex has given wider range considering various varieties of cotton seed oil all across the world ( Range-100 to 123) while India FSSAI standards has adopted narrow range ( 98 to 112). If the imported cotton seed oil is meeting the Codex standards, it does not become unsafe since Iodine value is not a safety parameter. Since the Iodine Value is not being met, members

will find it difficult to import cotton seed oil, unless the specification is either relaxed or harmonised with Codex Standard Specifications. In view of this, SEA has represented to FSSAI to allow import of cottonseed oil either by relaxing or harmonising iodine value condition with Codex Standard specifications of Cottonseed Oil. This will help the members of the Association to import Cottonseed Oil immediately to bridge the gap between demand and supply due to reduced Cotton Crop this year.

Trans Fatty Acid (TFA) & Melting Point in Vanaspati I am happy to inform that with our continuous efforts along with other like-minded Associations, has yielded into positive results. FSSAI has issued draft Notifications on Trans Fatty Acid (TFA) limit of not more than 10% in Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils, removal of Melting Point on the lines of decision arrived at the National Consultation held

by NIN at Hyderabad and also notification on labeling of TFA contents and saturated fat. It has proposed to allow Palm Stearin in manufacture of vanaspati, to control trans fats content as well as in lowering the cost of production of vanaspati.

Suggestion for Change of Name and Logo of the Association The Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) is celebrating the year 2013 as “Golden Jubilee Year”. SEA has played a very proactive and pivotal role in oils and oilseeds sector in last five decades and has earned recognition for its service to the trade and industry. SEA was originally formed with the objective to help & foster development of solvent extraction industry in India.

Over the years, the Association’s scope and sphere of activities have expanded.

Currently, SEA has membership of over 875 members of not only Solvent Extraction Units, but also has members including large number of Refiners, Oil Millers, Vanaspati Manufacturers, Oleo chemical manufacturers, Feed Manufacturers, Merchant Exporters, Foreign Buyers, Brokers & Dealers, Vegetable Oil Importers, Surveyors, Plant & Equipment manufacturers, Clearing & Forwarding agents, Ports, Portals,

Financial institutions and host of Service Providers and also few members from abroad. SEA has truly become a Premier Association of Vegetable Oil Industry & Trade in India.

In the last Managing Committee meeting held on 30th October, 2012 at Mumbai, it was deliberated at length whether it is time now for Association to reposition itself reflecting its true self and should the Association go in for image building and consider change of its name to give true reflection and contemporize its Logo.

This being a very important issue, I would personally request you to kindly let me have your views on: Whether the Association should change the name and if so, what could be the suggested name to reflect its scope and activities.

Whether the Association should change the current Logo.

Your opinion is very important for the Association to decide on this issue and shall be thankful to receive your reply at the earliest, so that the matter can be considered at the next Managing Committee meeting.

Meetings in South Zone As conveyed during my acceptance speech, to meet the members at their doorsteps, I, along with Mr. Sushil Goenka, Past President, SEA, Mr. Anand Menon, Chairman South Zone, SEA and Dr. B. V. Mehta, Executive Director, SEA would be travelling through Southern India from 7th to 12th January, 2013. We have organized the meetings with members at Hyderabad (7th Jan), Adoni, A.P. (8th Jan),thVijayawada, A.P.(9th Jan), Bangalore (10th Jan) Irinjalakuda, Kerala (11th Jan) and Madurai, T.N. (12 Jan.).

Association would be sending the intimation to all the members in Southern India inviting to participate and deliberate on both National and Local issues concerning to the vegetable oil industry.

I request all the members from southern India to kindly make it convenient to attend the meeting at a city/venue as may be convenient to you and let me have your feedback and guidance to resolve the issues faced by our industry. n

January 2013, SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY

POV

China’s latest quality norm unnerve palm traders — G Chandrashekhar

China is said to be holding huge stocks of vegetable oils, particularly palm oil at the ports. According to R. Ramamoorthy of AR International, an international trade intermediary, in the last two weeks, China’s inventory has expanded by 10 per cent and current coastal stocks of refined palmolein are estimated to have crossed one million tonnes.

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couple of tough traderelated measures including border control measures taken by China recently have unnerved the global vegetable oil and oilseeds trade and industry.

Benchmark soyabean prices had stayed firm over the last few months (highest $17 a bushel in September) on a combination of supportive factors including tight supplies, strong US export sales and crush data (the highest in three years). Concerns over wet weather and lagging pace of plantings in Argentina were also supportive.

However, after rising to a six-week high by mid-December, prices have come under pressure on news of China cancelling export sales of US soyabean amounting to about 840,000 tonnes recently.

Tougher Import norms Of greater impact potentially is the report that China has decided to impose tough new regulations for import of vegetable oil with effect from January 1.

According to trade reports, the new regulation would include documentation relating to the vessel’s last three cargoes, in addition to the normal safety specifications including health parameters, agricultural chemical residues, contaminants and so on.

Some of the quality specifications have been tightened.

Until now, vegetable oil import consignments that did not meet Chinese standards were allowed to be discharged under supervision for further refining.

However, a week from now, new

SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY, January 2013

food safety measures will come into force for vegetable oil shipments that arrive in China’s ports.

This means cargoes that do not meet the national standards run the risk of a rejection at the port.

China is among the world’s largest importers and consumers of vegetable oil.

It is believed that Malaysian Palm Oil Board’s request for an extension of six months for implementation of the new regulations has not been acceded to.

Trade intermediaries pointed out that since 2009 almost 95 per cent of Malaysia’s palm oil shipments to China have faced smooth clearance.

Well-stocked China is said to be holding huge stocks of vegetable oils, particularly palm oil at the ports. According to R. Ramamoorthy of AR International, an international trade intermediary, in the last two weeks, China’s inventory has expanded by 10 per cent and current coastal stocks of refined palmolein are estimated to have crossed one million tonnes.

At the same time, China has sufficient internal stocks to meet its immediate requirement. A slowdown in shipments to China is sure to exert downward pressure on palm oil prices which are struggling to find upward traction at around Ringgit Malaysia 2,300 a tonne.

Worse, there is widespread apprehension in Malaysian government and industry circles that other major importers may follow the Chinese footsteps and tighten import norms. n

Fats

Fats Watch

The bad and the good part — Ishi Khosla

F

irst let’s start with the fact — fat is not necessarily bad.

In fact, fat is integral to our health. Unfortunately, due to a lot of misinformation, fat has become a bad word in a skinnyaspiring world. There are good fats or essential fats, and bad fats. The key is to know the sources of both and strike the right balance. The body definitely requires some essential fatty acids.

20-30 per cent of total calories in a diet must come from fats. Sources of good fat include nuts, seeds, fatty fish and cold pressed oils. Foods containing monounsaturated fats (MUFA) reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, which makes them desirable for the body.

MUFA are found in mustard, rice bran, sesame, rapeseed, groundnut and olive oil. Along with the quantity of fat, the quality of fat is also important. A diet high in MUFA, with no transfats can be helpful. Fried food contains the undesirable and fattening trans-fatty acids. Sources of trans-fats include food from halwais, cheap eateries, Indian snacks like fried namkeens, pakoras, samosa, kachori, paapri chaat, golgappas, tikki, Indian sweets like patisa, gulab jamun, jalebi, imarti and majority of Indian preparations at dhabas or restaurants like dal makhni, butter chicken and shahi paneer. Choose a variety of vegetable oils instead of a

single source. This is because most of the vegetable oils don’t have an ideal mix of fats. Go for blended oils such as mustard, canola, sesame, rice bran and olive oil.

Kick refined oils out of the window.

They have dominated the Indian households for two decades now, giving us imbalanced fats and are responsible for various heart problems, cancer, gall bladder stones and for disturbing the overall immune system.

High heat refining takes the oil to a very high temperature where its goodness (vitamins and antioxidants) gets destroyed. Therefore, choose lessrefined or cold pressed oils instead.

They retain all their flavour, aroma, and nutritional value. Olive, peanut and sunflower are among the oils that are obtained through cold pressing.

Do not heat the oil without food for more than a minute.

Oils with high smoking point should be chosen for frying. Smoking point of an oil is the temperature at which it starts emitting a blue haze, indicating formation of decomposition products.

Most vegetable oils have adequately high smoking points while butter and coconut oil are not suitable for frying due to low smoking point.

What’s even better than using the best oils is to substitute it with their original sources. For instance, have sunflower seeds, peanuts and almonds instead of n their oil variations.

(Courtesy: TOI. The writer is a clinical nutritionist and founder of The Weigh Monitor)

January 2013, SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY

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Oils

Canola Oil

The most profitable commodity for Canadian farmers

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n just a few decades, canola has become one of the world’s most important oilseed crops and the most profitable commodity for Canadian farmers. The plant belongs to the Brassicagenus, the botanical family that includes cauliflower and cabbages.

The name canola is a contraction of Canada and ola, meaning oil. To earn the name canola, products must meet an internationally regulated standard.

The world’s healthiest vegetable oil is extracted from the seeds of the canola plant. The seeds are 44% oil - more than double the oil content of soybeans. In addition to its heart-healthy properties, canola oil is renowned for its fine culinary qualities.

High-protein meal is produced from the other 56% of the canola seed. Canola meal is an excellent animal feed for cattle, poultry, swine and fish. When fed to dairy cows, it can increase milk production by one litre per day. Researchers have also developed a protein isolate that could one day be used for human nutrition.

Biofuel feedstock is one of the newer uses for canola. It’s the feedstock of choice for Canadian-produced biodiesel because of its exceptional cold weather performance.

Compared to fossil diesel, canola biodiesel reduces lifetime greenhouse gas emissions by 90%.

Canola is the world’s only “Made in Canada” crop. It was developed by researchers from Agriculture and AgriFood Canada and the University of Manitoba in the 1970s, using traditional plant breeding techniques.

Today innovation continues to drive 12

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SAARC OILS & FATS Today, January 2013

The name canola is a contraction of Canada and ola, meaning oil.

To earn the name canola, products must meet an internationally regulated standard

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the industry. Researchers are exploring new uses for the plant and pushing the boundaries of where canola can be grown. Advances in seed are improving yields, hardiness and profitability while elevating oil and meal to even higher levels of quality.

Criteria Seeds of the genus Brassica (Brassica napus, Brassica rapa or Brassica juncea) from which the oil shall contain less than 2% erucic acid in its fatty acid profile and the solid component shall contain less than 30 micromoles of any one or any mixture of 3-butenyl glucosinolate, 4-pentenyl glucosinolate, 2-hydroxy-3 butenyl glucosinolate, and 2-hydroxy- 4pentenyl glucosinolate per gram of airdry, oil-free solid.

Oils Culinary Qualities Spices and herbs come to the fore in vinaigrettes. The delicate taste of baked goods is enhanced. Marinade flavours are sealed in and delivered.

These qualities, combined with its nutritional advantages and high smoke point, make canola oil the first choice of many food professionals and processors.

It’s becoming even more valuable as new high-oleic varieties reduce the need for hydrogenation.

However, researchers found that heating canola oil to its smoke point can reduce the amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids (linoleic and linolenic acids) due to oxidative degradation. Cooking in smoking oil is certainly not recommended, nor is it a common cooking practice in North America.

Researchers replicated commercial deep-frying methods, where oils are used for much longer periods of time than stir-frying and baking. They tested a standard frying temperature of 185°C and an extreme temperature of 225° C. Nutritional Benefits Fats are made up of smaller units called fatty acids. Canola oil is rich in two fatty acids that are essential in your diet because your body can’t make them.

Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is an essential omega-3 fatty acid. It protects against heart attacks and strokes by helping to lower bad cholesterol.

Linoleic acid (LA) is an essential omega-6 fatty acid. It’s important for the brain and for the growth and development of infants. The ratio of omega-6 to omega3 in canola oil is 2:1, which is nutritionally ideal. Both of these fatty acids are

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Compared to all other vegetable oils the market, canola oil has the lowest levels of the fats that are “bad” for human health.

Saturated fats raise the bad cholesterol (LDL) in your body and have been linked to coronary heart disease. Canola oil has the lowest saturated fat level of all vegetable oils. Olive oil contains twice as much saturated fat as canola oil.

Trans fats raise bad cholesterol and lower good cholesterol (HDL). While all processed oils contain very small levels of trans fatty acids, canola oil is defined as zero trans fat by government regulatory authorities in North America.

Transfats can be increased when vegetable oils are partially hydrogenated to make them more solid. Be wise: Choose canola oil and non-hydrogenated soft margarines instead of solid fats, such as partially-hydrogenated margarine, shortening, lard and butter. High-oleic canola provides additional opportunities to choose products that are free of trans fat.

Canola is the world’s only

“Made in Canada” crop. It was

developed by researchers from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the University of Manitoba in the 1970s, using traditional plant breeding techniques

”

polyunsaturated.

Canola oil also contains very high levels of heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids, which lower bad cholesterol (LDL) and help control blood glucose. Canola’s heart-health claims are backed up by the US Food and Drug Administration.

No Cholesterol Canola is free of cholesterol - a soft, waxy substance present in all parts of your body. Too much LDL or “bad” cholesterol can clog arteries and increase risk of heart attack and stroke.

One serving of canola oil each day will deliver about a quarter of all the vitamin E you need. Vitamin E is an antioxidant that protects your body’s fats and proteins from free radical damage. It may also help reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer n and memory loss.

Courtesy: Canola Council of Canada

January 2013, SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY

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SAARC OILS & FATS Today, January 2013

Pre-Event

AOCS Oils and Fats World Market Update and Industry Expo 2013

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rbana, Ill., USA-AOCS and APK-Inform are pleased to announce their collaborative efforts in organizing the AOCS Oils and Fats World Market Update and Oils and Fats Industry Expo in Kiev, Ukraine, in April 2013.

The AOCS Oils and Fats World Market Update 2013 will be held at the Ukrainian House. This conference is designed for senior executives, traders, suppliers, producers, processors, and food and nonfood companies from around the world.

It will showcase world-class speakers and promote interaction with leading CEOs and decision-makers as they examine the issues relevant to all aspects of the oils and fats trade. It attracts over 250 of the oils and fats industry’s brightest minds and most-influential power brokers who will meet for unparalleled education, strategic thinking, and discussion about the progress, opportunities, and challenges facing the industry.

In conjunction with the conference, APK-inform will organize the Oils and Fats Industry Expo 2013. The expo will feature not only Ukrainian and Russian brands, but will also include brands from companies worldwide. The interest of foreign producers in the Ukrainian oils and fats industry will provide you with the opportunity to discover a wide range of equipment and materials designed to maximize your company’s production process.

Two short courses will also be offered 4–5 April. The first, Solvent

Extraction of Vegetable Oils, provides new and experienced plant personnel the opportunity to meet experts, discuss their current problems, and to learn ways to enhance their plant operations. This is a must-attend for anyone interested in solvent extraction of vegetable oils. The second short course, Fundamentals of Edible Oils Refining and Considerations in Sunflower Oil Processing is a mustattend for anyone involved in the field of vegetable oil processing and who is interested in the latest developments in bleaching, hydrogenation, interesterification, deodorization, the production of biodiesel, and non-trans fats. Participants in this short course will gain valuable experience and an unmatched opportunity to find solutions to practical problems through face-to-face access to speakers, industry experts, and fellow attendees.

For the first time in Ukraine!

APK-Inform Agency announces about holding of the international exhibition “Oils and Fats Industry Expo - 2013”, which will take place in Kiev on April 3-4 in the national center “Ukrainian house”. The fair is organized within the frameworks of the major conference “AOCS Oils and Fats World Market Update 2013”, held by AOCS (American Oil Chemists’ Society) and APK-Inform.

For the fist time ever Ukraine will be the venue of the largest exhibition devoted to the most dynamically growing segment of the domestic and world agriculture oils and fats industry.

OFI Middle East 2013

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fter previous successful OFI events, Oils & Fats International is delighted to announce OFI Middle East 2013, to be held at Inter Continental Citystars, Cairo, Egypt, from 9 to 10 April.

OFI Middle East 2013 will feature a cutting edge commercial/technical conference together with an exhibition showcasing the latest products and services from the worldwide oils and fats marketplace.

The event will attract visitors from countries including Bahrain, Egypt, Greece, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates and will offer the local oils and fats industry a forum to build relationships and demonstrate their products and services to the Middle East and Gulf region.

January 2013, SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY

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Dairy

The next

white revolutionaries — Harish Damodaran

Karanjveri is only one of the Valsad milk union’s 1,016 societies covering the three southern Gujarat districts of Valsad, Navsari and Dang. Out of their 1.16 lakh members, 74,433 (64 per cent) areadivasis.

“The share is higher if you take regularly pouring members. About 80 per cent of our milk comes now from adivasis”, reckons S.B. Singh, procurement manager at the Valsad union, which bought an average of 3.8 lakh litres daily in 2011-12.

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ITH just half an acre of land, but six crossbred cows and two heifers, Kaushikaben Jayantbhai Deshmukh earns her livelihood entirely from selling milk.

The 37-year-old, belonging to the Kokna adivasi tribal community, pours 1,650 litres every month on an average to the cooperative society at Karanjveri village in Dharampur taluka of Gujarat’s Valsad district.

At Rs 23 a litre, it works out to Rs 38,000. After spending about Rs 10,000 on cattlefeed and another Rs 3,000 to purchase dry/green fodder, she has Rs 25,000 left as ‘income’. Pretty decent compared with ten years back, when Kaushikaben and 16

her husband barely eked out a living as farm labourers.

Today, on their meagre holding, the two grow paddy during monsoon — only for straw and meeting own rice needs — and jowar and bajra in rabi/winter, purely for giving fodder in 50-55 days. Milk is, thus, their sole source of cash income.

During the year ended March 2012, Kaushikaben sold a total of 19,786 litres and received Rs 4.47 lakh as payments.

Both her children study, a son in class 10 and daughter in ninth. And it’s not an isolated story of tribal emancipation.

The Karanjveri milk cooperative’s 273 producer-members are all adivasis — three-fourths Kokna and the rest from the Dhodia tribe. Together, they grossed nearly Rs 1.6 crore, supplying over seven

SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY, January 2013

Harish Damodaran

lakh litres to the society that is part of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation’s (Amul) Valsad dairy union.

Dairy Debutants Most are first-time milk producers.

Like Paruben Chhotabhai Bhoye. A landless labourer selling 20 litres-plus daily from two cows and four heifers (two recently pregnant), her husband was previously a building construction worker in Valsad city.

Or Laljibhai Mahala, the Karanjveri society’s secretary. Fifteen years ago, he was a diamond polisher at Navsari, coming home once a month after earning Rs 500-600 from working 12 hours a day.

“Today, my 26-year-old son is a veterinary science graduate employed

Dairy with the state animal husbandry department. My married daughter teaches at the Dharampur taluka panchayat school. Without milk, I would have been nowhere”, says Laljibhai.

Karanjveri is only one of the Valsad milk union’s 1,016 societies covering the three southern Gujarat districts of Valsad, Navsari and Dang. Out of their 1.16 lakh members, 74,433 (64 per cent) areadivasis.

“The share is higher if you take regularly pouring members. About 80 per cent of our milk comes now from adivasis”, reckons S.B. Singh, procurement manager at the Valsad union, which bought an average of 3.8 lakh litres daily in 2011-12.

At Rs 25 a litre — the average rate that producers got for both buffalo and cow milk — the union would have pumped in almost Rs 350 crore, 80 per cent of it (Rs 275 crore) accruing to adivasis!

Interestingly, when it started out in 1981, the Valsad union was buying milk from farmers mainly from the ‘forward’ Patidar, Desai (Anavil Brahmin) and Rajput communities, with a sprinkling of Koli Patels.

Today, the first lot has virtually stopped pouring. The Kolis — catogorised under ‘other backward classes’ — are still around, but the most active are the adivasis.

Symbolising the trend is Tarsadi village in Navsari taluka. It once had a Patidar-dominated milk society that has closed down, with the bulk of young community members migrating to the US, leaving only their old folks behind.

Likewise, there is the Gorgam society in Valsad taluka, headed by a Patidar despite 99 per cent of the pourers being adivasis.

A New Tradition To understand the transformational impact brought about by milk, one must, first and foremost, realise the absence of any organised milch animal rearing tradition among the adivasis.

Till a generation ago, the southern Gujarat tribals — whether Kokna, Dhodia, Bhil and Gamit or the even worse-off Varli, Kotwalia, Kolcha and Kathodi — drank black tea and weren’t averse to slaughtering cattle for meat.

Their source of livelihood was

Technology apart, there is also financial and marketing intervention.

Every woman farmermember is eligible for a Rs 25,000 loan from the Valsad union to purchase a cross-bred cow.

The loan, bearing 9 per cent interest, is repayable after three years. By then, the cow would have undergone three lactations, each yielding 2,500-3,000 litres.

subsistence cultivation, cutting wood, collecting bamboo for basket-weaving, and gathering minor forest produce such as mahua flowers/seeds, timru (tendu) leaves orkatha from acacia trees.

In more recent times, with their access to forest resources progressively curtailed, the adivasis in this belt have increasingly resorted to migratory employment — as construction and road building workers at Surat, Ankleshwar, Valsad, Vapi and Mumbai; diamond polishers and timber cutters at Surat and Navsari; labourers in cane fields near sugar mills around Surat or grape orchards across the Maharashtra border in Nashik, Dindori, Pimpalgaon and Niphad.

It is to them — people with little prior experience of milking animals, leave alone knowledge about feeding (what, how much and when) or recognising ‘heat’ (estrous) symptoms — that Amul unions like Valsad, Surat and Panchmahal have introduced modern animal husbandry concepts over the last few decades.

This has meant training them, for instance, in detecting heat signs: General excitability (jumping on other animals, mooing a lot), frequent urination, vulva swelling/reddening along with thick mucous discharge, reduced milk output, etc. A cow showing these has to be inseminated within 24 hours. Missing it means waiting for the next estrous after 20-21 days, leading to delayed pregnancy and, ultimately, income foregone.

Bypass Advantage The adivasi milk producers have, moreover, been made to technologically leapfrog.

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Dairy That has entailed rearing highyielding cross-breds and not native Dangi cattle; artificial insemination (AI) instead of ‘natural service’; stall feeding rather than open grazing; giving factory-made compounded cattlefeed and mineral mixture supplements; and vaccination.

In Dang — Gujarat’s most backward district with 94 per cent adivasi population — the Valsad union has, since 2001, set up 150 village societies having 8,500-odd producer-members.

There are 40 AI workers catering to just these societies. The workers, trained by the union and supplied semen from elite bulls, frozen at minus 190 degrees Celsius in liquid nitrogen tanks to ensure sperm viability, charge Rs 30-50 for a single AI dose.

For an idea of the scale of these operations, the Valsad union’s 250 AI workers in all conducted some 2.2 lakh inseminations last year.

Further, all animals above six months are administered vaccination against hemorrhagic septicemia, theileriosis and foot-and-mouth disease, in addition to mass de-worming before and after the monsoon.

Technology apart, there is also financial and marketing intervention.

Every woman farmer-member is eligible for a Rs 25,000 loan from the Valsad union to purchase a cross-bred cow.

The loan, bearing 9 per cent interest, is repayable after three years. By then, the cow would have undergone three lactations, each yielding 2,500-3,000 litres.

The union has cumulatively loaned nearly Rs 70 crore — money it has sourced from nationalised banks — to over 36,000 producers.

The beauty here is that the milk from the cows financed also has a ready market in the union itself.

It explains the high 98.5 per cent recovery rate on these advances, in contrast to government cattle loan schemes devoid of any such assured marketing or buyback arrangements.

Cows In The Making Even more innovative is a scheme where the union provides Rs 10,000 worth of inputs — cattlefeed, mineral mixture, 18

de-wormer, vaccination and veterinary support — for rearing of heifers till about 28 months before their first calving and lactation. It is only then that repayment, at 9 per cent interest, gets triggered.

Till now, about 40,000 heifers have been enrolled under this scheme, of which 12,000 are already in-milk.

Sumanben Rameshbhai Pawar, a landless Bhil woman from Chikatiya village of Dang’s Ahwa taluka, bought her first cow in 2009 against a loan from the Valsad union. That animal has calved thrice and is pregnant again.

The first of its three heifers calved six months ago and is already giving milk.

The second is pregnant and will calve in four months, while the third is a 10month-old growing heifer. All these are ‘registered’ animals.

Today, Sumanben sells 11-12 litres daily, fetching Rs 8,000 a month or Rs 3,000 after all cash expenses, including loan repayment. Her earnings will only go up as more animals lactate.

Before 2009, she and her husband jointly harvested cane near the Bardoli sugar factory, living there with their three children and returning with barely Rs 5,000 after working through the crushing season from November to March. They no longer migrate.

“We advise these farmers to keep three cows — one freshly calved giving 10-12 litres milk, the second 5-6 months pregnant producing only 3-4 litres, and the third about 8 months that has already gone dry.

The last one will then calve in two months time, just when the second cow stops lactating.

In this way, 14-15 litres can be sold round the year, grossing Rs 1.2 lakh at Rs 23 a litre. Even if all expenses are 70 per cent, they will have Rs 36,000”, notes Narendra Vashi, Managing Director of the Valsad union.

Farmers can also make money by selling one freshly-lactating heifer every year for Rs 34,000 — or Rs 24,000 after deducting rearing costs over 28 months. It all adds up to a monthly net income of Rs 5,000 or so.

Producers are further being encouraged to cultivate subabul, a fast-

SAARC OILS & FATS Today, January 2013

growing fodder tree yielding 15-20 kg of protein and carotene-rich leaves daily.

These leaves can replace 2 out of the 6 kg of cattlefeed that a lactating cow requires every day. With cattlefeed costs at Rs 10/kg, the savings are not small.

“Currently, we procure 21,000 litres per day from Dang alone. With the foundations laid over the past decade, it can easily touch one lakh litres in the next five years”, adds Vashi.

Milking Counter-insurgency The question to ask is: If dairying can provide viable alternative livelihood in areas as backward as Dang — where there is no piped water and LPG; women walk 2-3 km to fetch firewood and water; and homes have walls built of bamboo and mud-dung filler — why not replicate it in the tribal belt of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa or West Bengal?

Kaushikaben, Paruben and Sumanben are living proof of adivasi women being more than receptive to modern animal husbandry practices, even if environmentalists and cultural anthropologists may see them as impinging on their pristine tribal traditions.

There is no doubt that our adivasis have been victims of development strategies ‘developing’ only others, and foisted upon them by venal governments and vile corporate interests.

But does salvation really lie in their going back to forest-based livelihoods, or engaging with modernity in a productive and inclusive manner?

This is where a product like milk holds out hope more than mahua flowers or tendu leaves. It has, more than anything else, a ready market in a nation of consummate milk drinkers.

With efficient procurement and marketing systems, of the kind the Amul unions have established, producers can also get up three-fourths of the consumer price.

There is no better way to combat Maoist insurgency than investing in a sector that can generate daily cash flows for the most marginalised sections, allowing them a n life of dignity and empowerment.

Courtesy: Hindu Buisnessline

January 2013, SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY

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Cover Story

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SAARC OILS & FATS Today, January 2013

Cover Story

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Cover Story

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SAARC OILS & FATS Today, January 2013

Cover Story

January 2013, SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY

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Dairy

— N.K.S. Gowda and K.T. Sampath National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology, Bangalore

A

mongst the many factors influencing profitable dairying, feeding accounts for about 60-70% of the total input and hence any improvement in the nutrition and feeding aspect of dairy cattle will have both qualitative and quantitative impact on health and productivity. The relationship between nutrition and health has been long recognised. Nutritional deficiencies increase morbidity and 24

mortality. Nutritional status has a profound direct as well as indirect influence on general and reproductive health of dairy animals. Some of the related aspects are discussed in this paper.

Protein The importance of protein in reproduction is well documented. Several hormones like gonadotrophins are peptides in nature and hence require a

SAARC OILS & FATS Today, January 2013

quality protein in the diet of animals. Often it is a usual practice of dairy farmers to feed more protein to increase appetite and milk yield. Through this otters some immediate benefit, it is not a sustainable approach.

The protein in feed are degraded in rumen and converted to ammonia which is used for microbial protein synthesis. Hence a balance of degradable and undegradable protein in the diet is very important, as the latter is more valuable in terms of

Dairy availability of amino acids at gut level.

Feeding high protein diets with more degradability at rumen is not advantageous because of the higher release of ammonia resulting in increased blood urea levels.

This could be compounded when the energy intake is deficit. Higher blood urea level is detrimental to uterine environment. Increased ammonia / urea in blood can cause disturbance in intermediary metabolism of glucose/ lactate resulting in impaired endocrine and luteal functions. Protein should never be fed in excess of the requirement and ration should be formulated to provide adequate rumen undegradable protein during peak lactation. The crude protein content of ration can range from 14 - 20 % depending on the level and stage of milk production, of which 40-45% should be rumen undegradable.

Energy Optimum energy balance is vital for hormonal balance and coordination of

reproductive events. The requirement of energy is highest during early lactation.

Generally energy requirement is met through a combination of dietary .intake and mobilization from body reserves.

The cow soon after parturition can not consume the required quantity of feed to commensurate the requirement due to hormonal and stress factors, however the energy need will be maximum to support milk yield. To achieve this the available body fat will be mobilized resulting in negative energy balance for few weeks till the cow consumes required quantity of feed. The onset of ovulatory estrous cycle must occur during the first 2-3 weeks of lactation for desired fertility. The negative energy balance status delays the resumption of ovarian activity and thereby lower fertility. During negative energy status, there will be increased lipolysis with more ketone bodies, low glucose and insulin level in blood. This metabolic shift is the main cause for suppression of increase in leutinising hormone (LH)

pulse frequency that is vital for growth of follicles. Low glucose and insulin levels are the primary signals influencing the release of gonadotrophin releasing hormones (GnRH) at central nervous system (CNS).

Micronutrients Relationship between reproductive functions and micronutrients has been well established. The requirement of micronutrients may change with the physiological state of the issue during reproductive cycling and pregnancy.

Borderline nutrient deficiencies may be manifested as impaired fertility before clinical symptoms are apparent. Optimum function of reproductive tissue may be limited by nutritional deficiencies at critical periods including puberty, parturition and peak lactation. Specific mineral and vitamin requirements for optimal reproduction in modern dairy cattle have not been fully defined during the period of reproductive cycling. Deficiency / excess of micronutrient intake may adversely affect

Table 1: Role of specific micronutrients Micronutrient

Function

Possible disorder in deficiency

Calcium (Ca)

Uterine tonicity, involution, foetal growth, cholesterol metabolism

Dystocia, ROP, anestrus

Phosphorus (P)

Key component of energy metabolism

Low conception rate, anestrus, cystic ovaries

Copper (Cu)

Biochemical/enzyme function, connective tissue formation, prostaglandin synthesis

Low fertility, post partum anestrus, abortion

Zinc (Zn)

Metallo enzyme, DNA / RNA synthesis steroidogenesis

Infertility, low spermatogenesis

Iodine (I)

Thyroid activity, basal metabolism

Foetal resorption, still birth, cystic ovaries

Manganese (Mn)

Metallo enzyme, foetal growth, follicular growth, steroidogenesis

Silent heat, delayed ovulation, cystic ovaries

Cobalt (Co) Propionate / glucose metabolism

Anaemia, non-functional ovaries, general infertility

Chromium (Cr)

Follicular maturation and LH secretion (?), secretion of pregnancy specific proteins in uterus

Early embryonic mortality (?)

Vitamin A

Tissue regeneration, anti-oxidant, steroidogenesis

Abortion, ROP, blind / weak calf

Vitamin D

Ca/ P homeostacis, foetal growth

Still birth, abortion

Vitamin E/Se Anti-Oxidant

Silent neat, mastitis, low sperm motility, ROP

January 2013, SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY

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Dairy the various stages of the reproductive events leading to delayed puberty, reduced ovulation, lower conception rates, and long post-partum anoestrus.

The micronutrient-mediated effects act either directly on the gonads / reproductive organs or indirectly via the hypophysealpituitary-gonadal axis. Supplementation of micronutrients is very much essential to support reproductive functions. In spite of adequate protein / energy nutrition, deficiency of micronutrients can alter the cellular functions leading to low fertility.

The supplementation of minerals based on the feeding practice and blood mineral status is a more practical and cost effective approach.

Metabolic disorders Ketosis (Acetonaemia) in dairy cattle Ketosis in cattle is associated with an inadequate supply of the nutrients necessary for the normal carbohydrate and fat metabolism that is seen mainly in times of high milk production in early lactation. The excessive ketone bodies in the bloodstream come from the breakdown of fat when the animal is forced to draw on its bodily reserves for energy. Although the metabolism of body fat provides energy for cows, the nervous system is dependent on glucose, and the ketones produced as a result of excessive fat metabolism can have toxic effects. The excess ketone bodies are eliminated in the urine, milk and breath of the animal.

The disease is usually seen in early lactation, within the first 2 months after calving and may cause significant production losses. Cows of any age may be affected but the disease appears more common in later lactations peaking at about the 4th lactation. Over fatness at calving has been associated with increased levels of ketosis. Secondary ketosis results frequently when conditions such as mastitis, retained placenta and milk fever have previously occurred.

Symptoms include decrease in appetite and milk yield. There is an associated loss of weight, firm faeces and the cow becomes depressed. In the nervous form, affected cattle excessively lick and chew or grind their teeth. The cattle may also walk aimlessly and appear blind and become recumbent. The treatment is to correct the energy deficiency in the diet, intravenous 26

glucose, and also give repeated drenches of propylene glycol or glycerine.

salts would be required to overcome this problem.

Milk Fever (Post Parturient Paresis) It occurs mostly in cows after fourth lactation and more common in aged animals but less common in heifers. The increased demand for Ca soon after parturition due to lactation will result in hypocalcemia and serum Ca level drops from 8-10 mg% to 3-7 mg% and animal exhibits dullness, sternal recumbancy and often convulsions. Milk fever is an impaired metabolic condition related to Ca status to previous Ca intake and parathyroid function. Due to the stress of parturition and early lactation, the homeostatic mechanism of the body often fail to mobilise Ca from its reserves (bone, muscles). In aged animals the number of receptors for vitamin D will reduce substantially and also the response of parathyroid hormone to mobilise Ca also will be low and thus complicating the Ca metabolism. Successful prevention include feeding prepartum diets with narrow Ca : P ratio and precautionary parentral supplementation of Ca and often with Mg.

Rumen Acidosis When fed with more cereal grains or fermented products, higher lactic acid production in rumen cause acidosis and disorder. Repeated such incidences would lead to laminitis in dairy animals. Hence the ration should be balanced with grains, oil cakes and roughages.

Grass Tetany Hypomagnesemia or grass tetany is a complex ruminant metabolic disorder influenced by mineral composition of plants, soil properties, fertilisation and season of the year. This occurs when ruminant animals are fed on lush grasses and is characterised by low serum Mg levels, tremors and hyperirritability. Low Serum Mg level in most cases occurs due to secondary reasons. Most grasses and green fodders are high in potassium (K) and when fed at higher quantity K exhibit an antagonistic action against Mg causing secondary Mg deficiency. Excess potassium fertilisation of soil and crops also lead to low Mg uptake by plants.

Pica (Geophagia) Eating inanimate objects (wood, soil), most common in growing animals due to deficiency of phosphorus (P) characterised by unthriftiness, in appetence, and reduced feed consumption. Deficiency of P both in soil and plants has been reported from all the tropical countries including India.

Strategic supplementation of phosphate

SAARC OILS & FATS Today, January 2013

Immunity The ability of an animal to resist an infection depends upon the competency of its immune system. Of all the influences (age, environment, nutrition) on which the immune response is subjected dietary nutrients can be most easily regulated. An inflammatory reaction and immune response can dramatically alter animal’s physiological state. Among all the nutrients influencing the immune response, trace minerals and vitamins playa critical role. General concepts of micronutrient deficiency include (a) alteration in immune response occur early in the course of reduction in micronutrient intake, (b) the extent of immunologjcal impairment depends upon the type of nutrient involved, its interaction with other nutrients (Vitamin A, & In; Vitamin E & Se), severity of deficiency and type of infection, (c) opportunistic infections (mastitis, cold, cough) are more common during a micronutrient deficiency (d) excess intake of micronutrients is also associated with impaired immune response. Important immuno modulating micronutrients is also associated with impaired immune response. Important immuno modulating micronutrients include vitamin A and in, vitamin E and Se, Cu, Fe and B complex Vitamins (folic acid, B6, B12. The importance of micronutrients in immune function regulation is greatly being realised. Micronutrient deficiency is one of the most probable reasons for poor antibody response following antigenic/vaccine stimuli. Efforts are being made to use some of the micronutrients like Vitamin E and Se. as adjuvants along with the antigen for enhancing the antibody response. Use of trace minerals in chelated form/organic form (Cu-Lysine, Zn-Methionine, Se-Methionine).

Dairy Antioxidants Oxidative stress is the basis of any disease development. Antioxidants are widely used as ingredients in dietary supplements in the hope of maintaining health and preventing diseases.

Antioxidants are molecules that slow or prevent the oxidation of other chemicals.

Oxidation is a redox chemical reaction that transfers electrons from a substance to an oxidizing agent. Oxidation reactions can involve the production of free radical, which can form dangerous chain reactions.

Antioxidants can terminate these chain reactions by removing radical intermediates and can inhibit other oxidation reactions by being oxidized themselves. Although oxidation reactions are critical for life, they can also be damaging; hence, plants and animals maintain complex systems of multiple types of antioxidants, such as glutathione, vitamin C, and vitamin E as well as enzymes such as catalase, superoxide dismutase and various peroxidases. Low levels of antioxidant

molecules or inhibition of these antioxidant enzymes causes oxidative stress and may damage or kill cells. As oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathogenesis of many diseases, the use of antioxidants is intensively studied.

Feeding Strategies for Optimum Reproductive Health The feeding management 30 days prepartum to 30 days post partum is critical for optimal milk yield, health and reproduction. A sound late pregnancy feeding programme is the key for improved lactation and reproductive performance of cow.

Dry Period Feeding The pregnant cow in lactation, need. rest for a certain period to allow reserve buildup and meet the forthcoming events of parturition. A dry period of 60 - 75 days is generally advised. The energy stored during this period can be mobilized to meet the deficit in early lactation. In addition

to good quality green fodder, 2-3 kg concentrate is recommenced for reserve building. Proper feeding schedule should be adopted to achieve a body condition score of 3.5 in a 1 to 5 scale, during the late pregnancy period. Cows that score 2.5 and less during early lactation will have lower fertility. At least 40% of the total OM requirement (1% of cow’s body weight) should be met through good quality green fodders and the mineral requirement should be met through additional inorganic/organic supplementation. Dry cows should not loose body weight during this period.

Transitional Dry Cow Diets This diet is designed to shift the cow from traditional dry cow diet (more fiber) to the early lactation diets (high in energy, protein, less fiber). Transitional diets should be fed for at least 3 wk before parturition, so that rumen microbes gradually get adapted to high-energy diets. The transitional dry cow diets should

Table 2: Recommended nutrient content in ration of dairy cow

Traditional diet

Dry Cow Transitional diet

Lactating cow Early lactation diet

Days (pre partum)

21 – 60

< 21

-

Days (Post partum)

-

-

< 30

DM intake (% B W)

2.0

2.2

2.5 - 2.7

CP (%)

14-15

16-18

19-21

UIP (% of CP)

35 – 37

38 - 40 40-45

Energy (% TDN)

65

68

Fat (%)

2-2.5

3-4 4-5

Ca (%)

0.6

0.7

1.0

P (%)

0.3

0.3

0.5

Vitamin A (IU / Day)

22000

23000

24000

70-75

DM: Dry matter; BW: Body weight; CP: Crude protein; UIP: Undegraded intake protein; TDN: Total digestible nutrients; Ca: Calcium; P: Phosphorus Table 3: Prepartum nutrient status and potential metabolic disorders Sl. No.

Nutrient status

Possible disorder

Deficiency

Excess

1.

Energy, protein

-

Ketosis

2.

Ca, Mg

K

Milk fever, delayed ut, involution

3.

Se, Vitamin E., Zn

-

Mastitis, ROP

4.

-

Na, K

Udder edema

5.

-

Protein, K

Downer cow syndrome

January 2013, SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY

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Dairy Table 4: Major nutrient requirement of dairy cattle Mature cow: last 3 months of gestation â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Maintenance requirement Body weight

DM(% BW)

CP(g)

TDN(kg)

Ca(g)

P(g)

Vitamin A (1000 I.U)

400

2.1 480 4.2

14

14

21

450

2.1

514 4.6

15

15

23

500

2.0

546

5.0

15

15

24

550

2.0

579

5.3

16

16

26

600

1.9

629

5.7

17

17

27

Lactating cow: upto 12 weeks of lactation â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Maintenance 400

2.2

908 4.8

30

23

21

450

2.1

950

5.1

31

24

23

500

2.1

988

5.4

33

25

25

550

2.0

1028

5.7

34

26

27

600

2.0

1064

5.9

35

27

30

For each kg of milk production Fat (%)

CP(g)

TDN(kg)

Ca(g)

P(g)

-

-

3.5

71

0.31

2.6

1.9

-

-

4.0

79

0.31

2.7

2.0

-

-

4.5

86

0.33

2.8

2.1

-

-

5.0

93

0.35

2.9

2.2

-

-

be formulated to minimize the incidence of metabolic disorders during lactation.

Early Lactation Diet Soon after calving, it is not possible to meet the nutrient requirement through feeding alone due to reduction in appetite of cow. Hence, it is desirable to increase the grain portion as energy source and at least 20 % of the OM intake should be through good quality green fodders to maintain the rumen environment. After 12 week of calving the proportion of grain can be reduced as the cow can consume more of roughage to meet the energy demand.

For meeting the energy requirement during early lactation certain additives like propylene glycol (70 -100 g / day) can be added in the diet. Supplementation

of niacin (3-5 g /day) will also help in improving the rumen environment and appetite of cow. In very high yielding cows feeding of by pass fat (200 - 400 g / day) will help in early return to positive energy status, thereby signalling the resumption of ovarian activity.

Biosecurity It is a series of management steps taken to prevent the introduction of infectious agents into animal herd through feed stuffs, water or any other means. It involves screening and testing of feed materials/ animals, quarantining or isolation, monitoring and making a action plan. Biosecurity programme is an essential aspect of farm animal safety to maintain a healthy environment

and produce products of safe quality.

This helps to ensure consumer demand for quality product and ultimately the profitability of dairy enterprise. The potential hazards in feed and dairy farming can be categorized as high or low, major or minor. These hazards, which are high and major becomes the part of Hazards analysis, and critical control point (HAGCP) plan. Hazard analysis are based on known feed contaminants and error - prone areas that could compromise biosecurity. The majority of these are directly related to possible effects on feed safety, such as Salmonella, E. Coli, mycotoxin contamination, rancidity of fats etc (Table 5).

Table 5: Hazards analysis at a model feed plant High risk / Major severity

Salmonella, E. Coli, Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) contamination, mold growth, mycotoxin production, metal contamination, meat meal in feeds, Dioxin contamination, insufficient mixing, wrong medication, wrong feed batch sequencing, low quality raw material, incorrect labelling of feed bags.

Low risk / Minor severity

Rancidity, improper pellet size, biogenic amines, heavy metals, pollutants

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SAARC OILS & FATS Today, January 2013

Dairy Table 6: Biosecurity risk assessment Parameter

Low risk

Moderate risk

High risk

Feed and Manure handling Equipments

Separate equipments are used

Same equipments but thoroughly washed

Same equipments are used

Heifer feeding Not given any refusals

of adult animals

Heifers of more than 1 year age are fed feed refusals

Part of the heifer diet is refusals from adult animals

Infectious diseases

Good vaccination programme, breeding through Artificial insemination, proper nutrition

Incomplete vaccination programme, breeding through natural service with tested bulls

No vaccination programme, breeding through natural service with untested bulls, ppor nutrition

Feed inventory and storage facilities

Property maintained, proper sanitization followed, free of pest, mold, store room located away from manure pits.

Some inventory control, evidence of mold, pest in feed, minimal sanitization

Inventory not maintained, open storage of feed, location near to manure pit

Feed ingredients

Crops harvested at proper Reasonable quality control stage of maturity and on harvesting practices, moisture, Routinely some level of evaluation evaluated for nutrient content

Feed not harvested at proper maturity, no evaluation of nutrient content.

Feed plan

Diet formulated based No strict feed plan, rotating on feed availability, animal nutritionist need and work with nutritionist.

No feeding plan, non-availability of nutritionist, no monitoring

Equipments usage

Separate equipments for handing feed, mature, milk, water

Often same equipments are used but cleaned properly

Same equipments are used.

Number of farm visit per day

One farm, little or no animal contact

More than one form but minimal animal contact

Visits many farms, much animal contact

Protective clothing

Wears sanitized shoes, aprons, regularly

Sometimes use protective clothing

Not at all use protective clothings

Farm visitors Little visitors, safety

measures followed

Moderate number of visitors and safety measures followed

Many visitors and no safety measures

Biosecurity knowledge of farm owner

Partly knows and partially implements

Does not know

Knows and implement well

E-mail: nksgowda@rediffmail.com

January 2013, SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY

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Dairy

Hatsun Agro

The problem of plenty was a blessing in disguise — R.G. Chandramogan, CMD, Hatsun Agro Product Ltd

I

n the first half of this year alone Hatsun Agro’s income was Rs 1,020 crore. The drivers of growth are the Arokya brand of milk; Ibaco chain of ice-cream parlours, which will make it a market leader in the segment; and Hatsun curds. The dairy ingredients business, consisting of long shelf-life products, including ghee and milk powder, is close to break-even and is set to grow. Hatsun has emerged a national brand while liquid milk will dominate the South.

A Good Year The year has been very good. We are nearly saturated to capacity at 22 lakh litres of milk a day, a 27 per cent increase in the quantity handled. Our overall growth has been around 18 per cent, while the entire country has recorded 15-20 per cent growth.

This was possible because a lot of small and medium dairy players were unable to lift the heavy arrivals of milk.

Hatsun Agro used this opportunity to expand its base and increase procurement for the next level of growth. The company plans to expand capacities by 5 llpd in south India. These are the positive aspects 30

The logistics cost is a critical component in the dairy sector.

As a percentage of distribution and procurement of milk, logistics was about 7.5 of our business two years back. It is now 6 per cent. We are targeting about 5.5 per cent. This compares well with industry standards of 7-9 per cent

SAARC OILS & FATS Today, January 2013

regarding milk. The surplus has been a blessing in disguise.

The problem of plenty The problem of plenty was a factor behind Hatsun’s success. Milk powder processors were stuck between excess supply and heavy inventories due to an earlier ban on exports.

Hatsun Agro with its earlier credentials was able to find a market though prices were not cost-effective. We lost some money on the transactions, but benefited from cost reduction on expenses per litre of milk due to the larger volumes. This effective cost helped other businesses, such as milk, ice-cream and curds.

Milk Centres In the sales of milk, unlike the competition, we do not use the existing distribution network, which is usually that of a local cooperative for the trade.

Hatsun Agro has its own centres for distributing milk and curd. They also sell ice-creams. The company has rented more than 1,500 places across south India and local agents deal with Hatsun products exclusively.

The agents are encouraged to buy

Dairy vehicles for effective distribution of milk.

Over 600 vehicles are now plying and there will be 1,000 before March 31.

Dairy ingredients As a dairy company, Hatsun will look primarily at milk, ice cream and curds.

Curds will be a major focus in the coming year. A Rs 33-crore curd plant with a capacity of 50,000 litres a day is coming up at Palacode. It is to start by February andwill add to the existing capacity of 70,000 litres.

Dairy ingredients constitute about 20 per cent of the business. This business will help handle surplus milk. As the main lines grow, there will be pressure on ingredients. To meet that growth next year, we needed to accommodate the surplus milk. We have now set the foundation for next year.

Domestic Markets Over the last three years the business has moved from commodity to branded products with the Hatsun range of dairy ingredients sold across the country.

After the ban on exports three years back the company focussed on the domestic market and continued to do so even after the ban was lifted. Two years back, 75 per cent of sales were branded; today, it is up to 92 per cent.

Now almost the entire milk fat is sold as Hatsun Ghee. Hatsun Milk Powder reaches domestic consumers in milkdeficit areas and Hatsun Dairy Whitener is sold in consumer packs in the North East. After two-and-a-half years, Hatsun Agro is close to breakeven in dairy ingredients and does not expect any setback irrespective of volume increases in this business.

Dairy ingredients will continue to have a decent growth and the focus is now on making it financially viable.

Parlour Segment The Ibaco chain of parlours will back the growth in ice-creams. In the parlour segment, in the coming year we will be a market leader in the country. We have over 80 Ibaco outlets and are opening 10 more every month in different parts of south India. By February we plan to have over 115 outlets. This is likely to give us substantial growth in ice-cream volumes.

This is a non-competitive niche which Ibaco has occupied for itself.

Ibaco offers margins but calls for heavy investment per shop — Rs 25-30 lakh per outlet. This is possible through the economies of scale achieved by Hatsun Agro. The combined sales of Arun Ice Cream and Ibaco will give growth a big push compared with last year. As of now the two brands together have contributed to a 30 per cent increase. And we will grow twice as fast as the rest of the industry.

The Arun Ice Creams range is also being strengthened. The company has invested over Rs 6.5 crore in making cones, biscuits and chocolate paste as backward integration. This saves us cost on key inputs in this high-volume range.

As a dairy company, the raw material cost — milk and fat — is lower.

Tackling power shortage The company needs over 5 crore units of electricity annually. It has entered into an alliance with PPS Enviro Power, a wind energy generator, for electricity supply this year. This will give us reliable power at a comparatively reasonable cost.

Logistics Costs The logistics cost is a critical component in the dairy sector. As a percentage of distribution and procurement of milk, logistics was about 7.5 of our business two years back. It is now 6 per cent. We are targeting about 5.5 per cent. This compares well with industry standards of 7-9 per cent.

We managed this through the dispersed location of nine regional factories and economies of scale. . For milk distribution we use not less than 15,000-litre trucks and for procurement up to 23,000-litre tankers.

We use the facilities to the maximum.

Over 80 chilling centres preserve farm freshness before the milk reaches the factories. We are also introducing energy-efficient chillers, a product of research funded by us with work done

by Promethean Power Systems, a US company.

For long-distance transport, we reduce one-way traffic. The company is working on sending dairy ingredients to North India and Western India and getting back packing material such as films on the return load.

Hatsun Agro to raise capacity

H

ATSUN Agro Product Ltd is set to expand milk processing capacity and more than double the production of branded curd , according to reliable sources.

The company, the largest private sector dairy, handles about 21-24 lakh litres of milk daily which just about matches its installed processing capacity. This is about one-third of the 70 lakh litres procured in Tamil Nadu by the organised sector, including the cooperatives, which procure and sell processed, branded milk and milkbased products.

R. G. Chandramogan, Chairman and Managing Director, Hatsun Agro, said the company will add about 70,000 litres of curd production and packaging capacity which will take its total daily output to 1.20 lakh litres. The facility at Palacode, coming up with an investment of about Rs 33 crore, will commence production in February.

However, he declined to comment specifically about the milk processing capacity expansion.

Reliable sources said the company is in the preliminary stages of expanding processing capacity by about five lakh litres a day. The details of the investment are not available.

The added capacities will come up in South Tamil Nadu.

The company sells liquid milk in South India under the brand name ‘Arokya’ and a range of milk-based products under the brand name Hatsun. The other major product line is ice creams under the brand ‘Arun’ and Ibaco, a chain of exclusive ice cream parlours.

About 13 lakh litres of milk procured from dairy farms is processed and sold as branded, liquid milk, ice creams and curd. The balance goes as milk ingredients including butter, ghee, skimmed milk powder and dairy whitener under the brand name Hatsun available nationally.

January 2013, SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY

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News

US Army flexi-bags now to pack edible oils

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lexi-bags, which were used to transport whisky, wine and juices in bulk to American troops during wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, have been put to a different use now. They are now being used to move edible oil in shipping containers.

Also called flexi-tanks, these bags have become an alternative to transport oils, juices, wines, food-grade liquids and non-hazardous chemicals in shipping containers across the globe.

The flexi-bags were first used by the Americans in the 1969 Vietnam War to transport fluids for its troops. They are made of linear low density polyethylene (four layers) and high density polyethylene that is safe to transport non-hazardous liquid.

Malaysian Imports “We will use the flexi bags to import oil from Malaysia using the standard shipping containers,” said Raghavendra Srinath, Managing Director, Vikram Global Commodities (P) Ltd. Globally, these bags are being used to transport oil in containers. However, for the first time in India, the company will introduce this mode of transport, he claimed.

Once the oil is pumped inside, it

balloons to fit a 20-ft shipping container, he said.

At present, the oil is imported in break bulk ships. The cargo is stored in large storage tankers located in ships.

The size of flexi bags range from 16,000 to 26,000 litres. The materials used in the production of flexi-bags have to meet the US Food and Drug Administration, EU food-grade or German BGA standards.

The idea is to isolate the liquid being transported from ambient air to avoid oxidation, he said.

Vikram Global, which is mainly in trading will import edible oil directly from Malaysia and supply to bulk customers such as Saravana Bhavan, a leading Chennai-based restaurant chain. It has set up a storage terminal off a seaport at a cost of Rs 2 crore to store oil. This will help buyers procure fresh virgin premium edible oil at any point of time.

Quality, Quantity Transporting oil in containers helps in retaining the quality of oil while preventing deterioration due to long transit and prolonged storage (oxidation, odour, colour and sedimentation), he said.

The flexi-bags can carry 20 tonnes of

oil. This gives small buyers the option to import oil in small quantity compared to 10,000 tonnes in break bulk ships. Also, the import can be done on just-in-time as containers are available in plenty. This option was not available in break bulk, said Srinath.

Timeframe The time to import oil through containers will reduce to about four days from the present 25 days, he said.

Once the cargo arrives at the company’s terminal set up inside the Central Warehousing Corporation in Virugambakkam, the oil is stored in storage drums that maintain a particular temperature. As and when a buyer needs oil, he can take delivery immediately from the terminal, explained Srinath.

Vegoils import drops 11% in Nov on higher inventory

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egetable oil imports dropped 11 per cent in November as the country had huge stocks in various ports and the pipeline in November.

In fact, the situation is likely to lead to some dormancy in imports this month too, according to the Solvent Extractors association.

A data put out by the association projected November imports of vegetable oils at a little over seven lakh tonnes in the first month of the oil year against 8.55 lakh tonnes during the same period a year ago.

The edible oil year runs from November to October.

“With huge stocks in ports and the pipeline, imports did not buy much last 32

month. Also, kharif soyabean production is higher besides a volatile currency market also kept importers off,” said B.V. Mehta, Executive Director of the association.

Usually, vegetable oil imports are at a low during November-February as crushing of kharif oilseeds takes place.

SAARC OILS & FATS Today, January 2013

According to the solvent extractors body statistics, 9.20 lakh tonnes of vegetable oils were held up in the ports while another 6.5 lakh tonnes were in transit as on November 1.

The port stock position was 6.55 lakh tonnes on December 1 with eight lakh tonnes of vegetable oils in transit. This year’s kharif oilseed output has been pegged higher at 208.9 lakh tonnes against 208.5 lakh tonnes a year ago. Soyabean production has, however, been projected marginally lower this year at 125.7 lakh tonnes against 126.6 lakh tonnes last year.

The industry, however, expects a record harvest of soyabean this year.

Crude oils made up 89 per cent of the

News imports. Nearly six lakh tonnes of the shipments into the country were crude oils with crude palm oil account for 5.34 lakh tonnes.

Among refined oils, RBD (refined, bleached and deodorised) made up 76,519 tonnes.

When its comes to the issue of palm groups oils versus soft oils, the palm group made up 91 per cent of the total imports. Sunflower topped the shipments of soft oils at 47,500 tonnes.

Imports were lower in November despite a drop in prices, barring sunflower oil.

While crude sunflower oil was up at $1,220 a tonne in November against $1,186 last year, prices of other oils were lower by at least $200 a tonne. At the same

(in tonnes)

November

Edible Oils

2012

2011

RBD palmolein

76,519

110,510

Crude palm oil

534,556

611,193

Sunflower oil

47,500

78,633

Soyabean oil

14,160

8,000

3,499

19,808

24,127

27,679

700,371

855,363

Crude palm ker oil Non edible Total

Source:SEA time, rupee during the period depreciated by over 10 per cent. With regard to stocks at ports, crude palm oil made up 4.6 lakh tonnes, RBD palmolein 75,000 tonnes,

degummed soyabean oil 40,000 tonnes, crude sunflower oil 70,000 tonnes and canola/rape oil 10,000 tonnes.

Tamil Nadu now No. 2 player in dairy

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ith nearly 70 lakh litres of milk being handled daily by the cooperative and the organised players in the private sector, Tamil Nadu has emerged the second largest dairy player after Gujarat.

Though a far second, with cooperative in Gujarat alone handling 1.2 crore litres of milk, two of the largest players in Tamil Nadu, the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Producers Federation and the private sector Hatsun Agro Product Ltd together procure nearly 50 lakh litres of milk directly from dairy farmers.

According to industry sources, on going flush season is seeing a rapid increase in milk production and the cooperative and private sector has managed to keep procurement going even as in neighbouring States the dairy industry is declaring a ‘procurement holiday’.

Following a review last week, the Dairy Development Department had announced that co-operatives in Tamil Nadu were procuring about 27 lakh litres of milk daily. The milk is sold as liquid, packeted milk and processed into various dairy products. In the private sector, Hatsun Agro procures about 21-24 lakh litres of milk daily and according to the Tamil Nadu Dairy Association, which represents over 100 small dairy companies that sell branded milk in packets, some of

them procure up to 25,000-50,000 litres daily. While for the large players this is an opportunity to expand their procurement base to grow the business, the smaller players are also growing though there is some short-term pressure on maintaining procurement.

Diversification R. G. Chandramogan, Chairman and Managing Director, Hatsun Agro, says, diversifying the product base by expanding market geographies are the only option for sustained growth. Dairy output is growing with farmers seeing an opportunity for weekly, assured income from milk supplies while agriculture is a seasonal operation. But the increase in milk procurement needs to be utilised.

While farmers’ income is protected, the surplus has ensured there is no ‘inflation’ in milk while prices of dairy products have dropped. While Hatsun Agro’s margins are squeezed it is an opportunity to expand procurement in the long-term,

he said.

The company’s presence in a diverse base including, milk powder exports, countrywide marketing of branded products including ghee, dairy whitener and milk powder is enabling milk absorption. Nearly 13 lakh litres of milk is processed into branded milk, ice-creams and related products while the balance is converted to dairy ingredients. The company’s veterinarians carry out over six lakh artificial inseminations annually, which will maintain availability of about one lakh additional female calves to keep the production pipeline going.

R. Rajasekaran, Secretary, Tamil Nadu Dairy Association, said the wide industry base is helping in keeping the procurement going. Even if some small players stay away, the produce is absorbed by the larger players. Deficient monsoon, agri-labour shortage is driving farmers to dairying as there is assured and regular income. Typically, production increases by 4-5 per cent annually but this year the growth is set to double.

Deficient monsoon also means that from January when the dry fodder availability goes down, output could drop. Also fodder concentrate prices are increasing with prices going to Rs 19 a kg from Rs 12 kg previously.

January 2013, SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY

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News

Milk production needs capacity addition

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ith a rise in milk production and the availability of skimmed milk powder (SMP) and whole milk powder (WMP), dairy cooperatives and private players are in an expansion mode.

Cooperative major Amul is seeking government support for funds to expand its processing capacity while private players are entering liquid milk business and adding new products to their baskets.

The Rs 11,668-crore Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which markets dairy products under the Amul brand, is procuring roughly 15% more milk at 120 lakh litre, compared to the previous year. Similarly, in Karnataka, the country’s second biggest milk producer state, the Karnataka Milk Federation is procuring 54 lakh litre milk daily.

“Looking at the increased intake of milk by the cooperative, we are focusing on expanding the current processing capacity across various milk plants in the country by 30% at 200 lakh litre milk per day,” said GCMMF chairman Vipul Chaudhary.

After getting a slew of incentives

such as interest subsidy of 4% towards working capital loans, the Karnataka Milk Federation and Milk Producers Unions (13 unions) is looking to expand capacity of 7-8 dairies in the state by 35%. This will increase milk processing capacity of the co-operative to 60 lakh litre per day.

From supplying SMP, north Indian player SMC Foods has entered the liquid milk chain. “The country’s image in the export market has been hit with its ad-hoc export policy.

We realised that fresh milk product was the future for domestic players like us,” said Sandeep Aggrawal, director, SMC Foods, which sells milk in the Delhi region under the Madhusudan brand.

After SMP exports resumed in June this year, prices have been bearish and ruling between Rs 130 a kg and Rs 150 a

kg depending on bargaining power and volume purchased, traders said.

Rajendra Singh, MD of the Delhi-based VRS Foods, said rising milk production will be advantageous to milk companies as cost will be low and companies could deliver products at competitive rates.

“Milk consumption will also increase and prices will remain stable in 2013,” he said adding that players will launch new products in the market.

Hatsun Agro Product is expected to soon launch its ready-to-eat curd rice in the market. The company has seen a 30% increase in milk production daily at 21.5 lakh litre and has 5,000 tonne export orders for SMP. But a spokesperson for GSK Consumer Healthcare, which makes Horlicks milk food drink, said, “there is no change in our procurement pattern. We continue to buy as and when there’s a requirement and are maintaining our seasonal cycle.”

But a spokesperson for GSK Consumer Healthcare, which makes Horlicks milk food drink, said, “there is no change in our procurement pattern. We continue to buy as and when there’s a requirement and are maintaining our seasonal cycle.”

Cargill buys Wipro’s Sunflower

C

argill said it has signed an agreement with Wipro to acquire the latter’s flagship brand Sunflower Vanaspati.

The scope of the acquisition is limited to the product brand only, the company said in a statement.

This acquisition strengthens Cargill’s existing portfolio of leading edible oil and vanaspati brands and also expands its market reach in India’s palm oil and its derivatives including vanaspati market,

it said.

Apart from marketing its edible oil portfolio that includes brands such as Nature Fresh, Sweekar andGemini, Cargill already locally produces and markets Vanaspati under its brands Rath, NatureFresh Purita and, Gemini.

“Acquiring Sunflower Vanaspati underscores Cargill’s long-term commitment to growing our consumer food business in India. It is an excellent fit with our existing strong brand portfolio

through which we serve a significant consumer base across the country,” said Siraj Chaudhry, Chairman Cargill India.

Read Evey Month

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SAARC OILS & FATS Today, January 2013

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News

Ruchi Soya to make food products

R

uchi Soya Industries, makers of the largest-selling soya food brand Nutrela, is getting ready to rejuvenate its portfolio with a range of value-added yet niche food products under the franchise.

The company is plans to tap into the the growing breakfast cereal market.

“We are looking at a total food experience for the Nutrela brand, which is being revitalised and rejuvenated with a 360-degree approach to include a range of value-added products,” said Sarvesh Shahra, Business Head (Consumer Brands Division), Ruchi Soya Industries, adding, “We are looking at the heat-and-eat space in breakfast cereals with a differentiated offering.”

The two-decade-old Nutrela brand is estimated to record Rs 1,000 crore sales turnover, including low-absorption cooking oils.

In the past, several attempts have been made to extend Nutrela beyond soya chunks and granules into the ready-to-eat snacks and beverage space.

Recently, Nutrela has entered

B

the margarine category with Nutrela premium table spread. While the size of the butter category is estimated at nearly Rs 1,400 crore, the margarine segment is much smaller at Rs 150 crore, giving brands like Nutrela a chance to establish themselves in the category, despite the presence of stalwarts such as Amul, Britannia and market leader Zydus Cadila

Biomax forms JV with Jeddah firm

io-fuel maker Biomax Fuels has set up a 50:50 joint venture with the Jeddah-based Middle East Environment Protection Co to set up the first bio-fuel plant in Saudi Arabia.

The $40-million plant, which is expected to be commissioned by 2013-end, will use used cooking oil as feedstock, one of the few plants in the world to use this non-food waste feedstock.

Hyderabad-based Biomax operates a similar plant in Visakhapatnam, which produces 25,000 tonnes of bio-diesel a month for export to Europe. Besides this, it runs a R&D unit in Chennai, which is working on unitisation of different waste oil, including algae oil, for fuel production.

MEEP is a diversified company headquartered in Jeddah having interest in waste management, real estate and healthcare.

M. Ravinder, Chairman of Biomax, said the Saudi Arabian firm will collect and supply the required used cooking oil, while Biomax would set up and operate the plant. “At present, we use feedstock supplied by the Saudi Arabian firm for our Vizag unit.

We took this partnership forward to form the joint venture,” he said.

MEEP supplies about 3,000 tonnes of used cooking oil a month to the Vizag unit. While the raw material cost works out to between $ 800-900 a tonne, the unit sells its bio-diesel at about $1100 a tonne.

Europe and the US are the biggest consumers of bio-diesel, as it is mandatory there to blend regular fossil fuel with bio-fuel at a stipulated percentage.

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(with Nutralite).

“Butter has reached a saturation point as the number of new users are limited and is growing at a mere two to three per cent today as compared to the table spread category, which is growing at 10 per cent,” added Sandipan Ghosh, Assistant Vice-President (AVP) (Consumer Brands Division), Ruchi Soya.

Advertising major O&M’s sister agency Meridian has been roped in to develop a new campaign for Nutrela’s latest offering. Further, the company has also roped in partners such as multiplex PVR (for Nutrela pop lites popcorn) and Jet Airways, to promote its brand as part of a sampling exercise.

In 2008, Nutrela had also made a serious foray into the beverage category under the N’ rich brand, a blended juice with a soya component, but withdrew the product soon after. Today, it would rather stay away from the cluttered beverage category which is already dominated by multinational brands.

SAARC OILS & FATS Today, January 2013

(In Photo) Prince Bader Bin Abdullah Bin M. Al Saad, Chairman of the Board of the Middle East Environment Protection Company, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, exchanging a Joint Venture with M. Ravinder, Chairman of BioMax Fuels, to set up an Indo-Arabian Joint Venture for Sustainable Bio-diesel in Hyderabad. On the right is N. S. Balamukundan, Director of Bio Max Fuels.

Bader Bin Abdullah Bin Saud, Chairman of MEEP, said the company has a strong collection infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. “Depending on the requirement, we can supply up to a maximum of 2.5 million tonnes per annum. After the first unit, we will be looking at setting up similar units across West Asia and North Africa region,” he said.

Ravinder said the technology being used in the plant was developed in-house by Biomax, which has the flexibility to use alternative feedstock such as crude palm oil, sunflower oil and even acid oil.

News

Soyabean output will be less: Oil World

W

orld soybean production will be smaller than expected this season as rain delays sowing in Argentina, while Europe’s rapeseed crop is expected to rise in 2013 as planting climbs in Germany, researcher Oil World said.

Farmers will harvest 269.1 million metric tons of soybeans in 2012-13, up from 239.9 million tons in the previous year, the Hamburg-based researcher wrote in an emailed report. The outlook was cut from 269.5 million tons a month ago.

Rapeseed futures in Paris gained 5.8 percent this year, while soybeans jumped 22 percent after the worst U.S. drought in more than 50 years curbed yields and

as excessive rain in Argentina creates concerns about the crop there.

“Argentina weather disturbances and planting delays continue to be major uncertainties for the soybean market,” Oil World wrote. “Later plantings will result in lower yields. The next two to four weeks will be crucial.”

The outlook for Argentina’s harvest was cut by 1 million tons from a month ago to 53 million tons, still up from 40.1 million tons in 2012, while “it cannot be excluded” that the crop will turn out about 50 million tons, Oil World said.

Canada’s soybean crop may rise to 4.93 million tons in 2013, compared with

a November forecast for 4.28 million tons, and from estimated production of 4.3 million tons this year.

The European Union’s rapeseed area is expected to climb to 6.51 million hectares (16.1 million acres) from 6.15 million hectares in 2012, the company wrote.

That might increase the bloc’s harvest of the oilseed to 20.5 million tons from 19.1 million tons this year, Oil World said.

German farmers are expected to harvest 1.44 million hectares of rapeseed, from 1.31 million hectares this year, while France’s area may slip to 1.52 million hectares from 1.61 million hectares, according to the report.

Rake shortage hits soyameal shipments

D

iversion of rakes to move foodgrains such as wheat and rice is hitting soya meal shipments. “Poor availability of rakes for exports is delaying our shipments,” said Rajesh Agarwal, spokesperson for Soyabean Processors Association of India (SOPA), which has made a representation to the Railways seeking additional rakes.

“The soya processing industry in Madhya Pradesh is getting one or two rakes a day against a requirement of 4-5 rakes a day,” Agarwal said. The situation is a little better in Maharashtra, where there is no pressure to ship wheat, Agarwal said.

When asked, railway officials said

“There might be some isolated cases.”

They, however, said the demand for rakes to transport fertiliser and foodgrains had significantly gone up in recent months.

This is reflected in the 31 per cent increase in loading of foodgrains by the Railways during November at 3.80 million tonnes over the corresponding period last year.

Though the soyameal industry is not witnessing robust demand at present due to high prices, there is some need-based buying from several countries, Agarwal said.

The soyabean crushing industry is operating at almost half its capacity due to poor availability of beans. India exported about 4.2 mt soyameal in 2011-12. In the

current financial year till November, soyameal exports stood at 1.38 mt, down 21 per cent over previous year’s 1.75 mt, according to data compiled by the Solvent Extractors Association of India.

Exporters said priority was being accorded for movement of cereals such as wheat and rice compared with other agri-commodity such as soyameal. The Government on Wednesday, approved an additional wheat export of 2.5 mt from the Central Pool stocks, a move that would help ease storage crunch at the Food Corporation of India godowns ahead of new crop arrivals in April. India, which produced a record 93.9 mt of wheat last year, is targeting an output of 86 mt in the current year.

China’s Soya Output Seen Declining 11.6% in 2012

C

hina is expected to have produced 12.8 million tonens (mt) of Soyabeans in 2012, down 11.6% from the previous year, with the planting area falling for the 3rd year in a row, a Govt. think-tank said.

As China focuses on boosting output of Corn, Wheat and Rice, it has become increasingly dependent on foreign Soy Supplies, and now buys 60% of Globally traded Soyabeans. Imports are expected to reach a record 57.5 mt this year.

China’s total Soyabean planting area fell 9% this year to 7.177 million hectares, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)

said.

The think tank, the China National Grain and Oils Information Center (CNGOIC) said the figure was higher than expectations, with some researchers estimating an overall decline of 25%.

Crushers at Loss Domestic Soya Crushers continue to make losses, with crushing margins negative for the eighth straight week this week, but the situation is improving, the think tank said.

The price of imported Soyabeans

stands at around 4,900 yuan ($790) a tone, down 50 yuan from last week, with crushing margins now at minus 437 yuan, or 170 yuan better than last week.

Festival Demand Despite negative margins, Chinese crushers have been buying more foreign soya cargoes in the last few weeks as they lock in supplies ahead of the peak consumption season before the Chinese New year festivities in February.

January 2013, SAARC OILS & FATS TODAY

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Date of Publishing 4-5 Every Month Date of Posting 9-10 Every Month

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