The above mismatch could increase in the coming days due to three reasons. The first is that very few dairies – GCMMF, Karnataka Milk Federation and Tamil Nadu’s Aavin – are today holding enough stocks of powder and fat. The second is international prices, which make exports more viable than imports.
The third reason has, again, to do with Covid. The lockdown made it difficult for farmers to access artificial insemination services. There were supply chain issues – be it of liquid nitrogen containers, frozen semen straws or technicians. Not being able to inseminate on time could, in turn, translate into further delayed calvings.