Increased price of powdered milk at import sources and costlier dollar have forced traders to raise the price of milk in the local market, market sources said. They disagreed with commerce minister Faruk Khan who on Thursday said that Japan radiation leakage had made impacts on local market.
‘Powdered milk price increased in the global market because of radiation fear after the accident at a Japanese nuclear plant and it also influenced the price in the local market,’ Khan had told reporters at his secretariat office on Thursday.
A senior official of Arla Food Ingredients, Bangladesh, importer and distributor of the Danish brand Dano, told New Age that increased price of milk at the import source and costlier dollar mainly forced them to raise price of the milk in Bangladesh.
The official admitted that in March they had raised retail price per kilogram of Dano brand instant powdered milk to Tk 506 from Tk 470.
Price of a 2-kg tinned milk of infant grade was raised to Tk 1,565 from Tk 1,365, he said. Tinned milk is imported as a finished product and it requires taxes as high as 92 percent in total and so the cost of its import is higher, he argued.
Milk importers argued that the weak dollar and high price of oil and dairy feeds had caused rise in milk price in international market in the last few months.
Although the global production of milk had not declined significantly in the period, but Arla officials said a continued increase of imports by China caused the rise of milk price.
Price of powdered milk in bulk hovered between $4,500 and $4,700 per tonne in the last week of March against around $3,500 per tonne in the same period a year ago.
‘Japan factor has yet to make any impact on international market,’ said another leading milk importer.
He however fears if radiation leakage obliges Japan to depend on imported milk widely in the coming months, international market might see a fresh increase in milk price.
‘Cash-rich Japan will give higher price and they will procure top grade dairy products,’ he said.
Abu Taher, general secretary of New Market Grocers’ Association said after remaining somewhat stable in the previous few months, price of milk increased exorbitantly in March.
He noted that retail price of leading brand Marks’ one kilogram pack increased more than 15 percent within a month to Tk 465. Fresh, another top brand, raised retail price of its one kilogram pack to Tk 465 from Tk 400, he added.
Bangladesh’s milk imports last year was around 22,000 tonnes, up from 19,000 tonnes in the previous year.
Milk marketers said despite the high price of milk, its demand remained satisfactory in recent months as local production of liquid milk cannot meet demand in a growing market.
Aminul Haque Chowdhury, a leader of Bangladesh milk and milk-products merchants association, said that with government being inactive to regulate the market, a very few large importers dominate the market of imported milk.
‘Baby food is a very essential product and so the government should regulate the market strictly to ensure the supply and price of milk at a stable level,’ he said.
Courtesy of New Age
