The milk giant of India cited “negative impact” on farmers reason behind its plea…
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Amul, India’s biggest dairy group, has sent a letter to the government asking it to delay the planned ban on tiny plastic straws. It has said that the move would have a “negative impact” on farmers and milk consumption in the world’s biggest producer of the commodity, reported Reuters.
Reuters has seen the letter sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office ahead of the July 1 ban on straws packaged with small packs of juices and dairy products. It is a market estimated by an industry body to be worth $790 million. Amul sells billions of small dairy cartons with plastic straws attached every year. The government incidentally has stuck to its guns and has asked companies to switch to alternative straws.
Most beverage companies have expressed their difficulty to replace plastic straw
The letter from Amul, signed by Managing Director R S Sodhi, said that straws helped promote milk consumption, and called for the ban — part of the government’s drive to stamp out polluting, single-use plastic — to be postponed for a year. The delay would “provide huge relief and benefit” to 100 million dairy farmers who “safeguard our food security in terms of milk and milk products”, Sodhi wrote.
The government believes that straws were a “low-utility product” that should be replaced with paper straws or packs with re-designed spouts instead. On his part, Sodhi said that Amul may have to sell packs without straws, come July 1.
In fact, most beverage companies have expressed their difficulty to replace plastic straws. Praveen Aggarwal of Action Alliance for Recycling Beverage Cartons, which represents drinks majors, said companies were considering importing paper straws from China, Indonesia and other nations in light of the upcoming ban. “There will be disruption,” he was quoted saying. While Pepsi and Coca-Cola dis not comment to Reuters regarding the ban, Parle Agro’s Chief Executive Schauna Chauhan said the company had started importing paper straws for now but it was unsustainable. “The economics just does not match up for a 10 rupee product,” she said.
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