3-Day Dairy and Food Expo Kicked Off at Hitex, Telangana

Mohd Mahmood Ali, Home Minister and Talasani Srinivas Yadav, Minister for Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries, Government of Telangana inaugurated the three-day Dairy and Food Expo at Hitex, Madhapur on Friday morning. It will be concluded on Sunday, 10th April.

It is jointly hosted by the Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTCCI) and Media Day Marketing (MDM). It is the first-ever show on the subject after the formation of the Telangana state.

More than 100 Exhibitors and 120 brands are displaying their products, technologies and services at the show. It is also showcasing the latest technologies, New Players, Processing & Packaging Machinery, Supply Chain Management and Allied Industries in the Dairy and Food Sector. The B2B event is also open to the general public from 10 am to 6 pm on all three days.

Minister T Srinivas Yadav urged the industry to produce more milk to meet the demand for it in the city. Milk is an essential commodity. The Vijaya Dairy which was speculated to be closed down before the TRS party came into power is now making fast strides. It is now doing well and achieved a turnover of over Rs 650 crore and we are targeting Rs 1000core.

Responding to the challenges and bottlenecks being faced by the Dairy industry as raised by K. Bhaskar Reddy FTCCI President, Minister T. Srinivas Yadav suggested having a preliminary meeting with the Director of Animal Husbandry and subsequently with him to resolve them.

Addressing the gathering immediately after inaugurating it Mohd Mahamood Ali, Home Minister said what farmers need is power and water, which is available abundantly in Telangana state, unlike in the past before the bifurcation of the state. I am being a Diary Farm owner, I know that we are unable to meet the milk demand of the city.

Hyderabad is known for Irani Chai and Biryani. People drink tea at least 5 to 6 times a day and they prefer buffalo milk. We can meet just 30% of the milk demand in the city and the rest is imported from Maharashtra and Karnataka.

We must become self-sufficient in Milk production, he said. He added that Telangana is the only state to have Mobile veterinary clinics

Speaking on the occasion Dr. S. Ramchander, Director of Animal Husbandry, Govt of Telangana said the Government of Telangana recognized the animal husbandry sector as a priority area. Animal husbandry plays a significant role in the nutritional security of the masses. The livestock sector employs 8.8% population.

The milk production of Telangana has grown from 42.07 LMT in 2014 to 57.65 LMT in the year 2020-2021. Telangana contributes approximately 3.0% of India’s total milk production with a 9.1 % annual growth rate of milk production against the national average of 6.5%. Despite being the world’s largest milk producer, only 12 to 15 % of the milk is delivered to the dairies for processing as against the world average of 70 %

Speaking about opportunities in Telangana Dr. S. Ramchander said a strong Veterinary health care network with 2100 veterinary hospitals 1200 qualified Veterinarians 2000 para veterinarians across the state to cater the animal health care in the state.

100 Mobile veterinary clinics rendering the Emergency services at farmer’s doorstep on call of toll-free 1962 no. TS Govt is spending 40 crores/ annum

Welcoming the gathering earlier K. Bhaskar Reddy, President of FTCCI raised problems and bottlenecks the dairy industry is facing.  While the city needs 35 lakh liters of milk, we are able to procure only 12 lakh liters. He expressed displeasure about the sporadic procurement of milk. 

The help, support, and funds supposed to come from National Dairy Promotion and Research Board is also not materializing due to the strained relationships with the state and centre. In conjunction with the expo knowledge sharing sessions are being organized. FTCCI organized a session on Milking Dairy Opportunities with a focus on Production, Quality, Innovations and Packaging technologies.