The Centre may explore the option of importing dairy products, like butter and ghee, if needed, as there is a supply constraint for such items due to milk production remaining stagnant as a result of the impact of lumpy skin disease (LSD) that killed 1.9 lakh cattle last year. The country last imported dairy products in 2011.
Meanwhile, under the National One Health Mission, the ministry of animal husbandry will on April 14 launch the Animal Pandemic Preparedness Initiative (APPI) as well as the World Bank funded 'Animal Health System Support for One Health' project to prevent an outbreak of such disease in future and deal with other diseases in the livestock.
Animal husbandry and dairy secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh on Wednesday said the country's milk production remained stagnant in the 2022-23 fiscal due to lumpy skin disease in cattle, while the domestic demand grew by 8-10% in the same period because of a rebound in the post-pandemic demand.