India’s Amul asks Modi to put off the ban on plastic straws because it will hurt dairy farmers.
NEW DELHI – India’s largest dairy company, Amul, has written to the government to ask that a planned ban on small plastic straws be put off. It says that the move will hurt farmers and milk consumption in the country, which is the world’s largest producer of milk.
Amul made its case in a letter sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office on May 28. The letter, which was seen by Reuters, was sent before a July 1 ban on straws packaged with small packs of juices and dairy products, a $790 million market, according to an industry group. Every year, Amul sells a huge number of small milk cartons with plastic straws attached.
The decision has scared Amul and global drinks giants like PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Inc and Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), especially since the government didn’t change its mind and asked companies to switch to different straws, as Reuters reported earlier.
In a letter signed by Managing Director R.S. Sodhi, the $8 billion Amul group said that straws help get people to drink more milk and asked that the ban, which is part of Modi’s plan to get rid of single-use plastics that pollute the environment, be put off for a year.
Sodhi wrote that a delay would “bring great relief and help” to the 100 million dairy farmers who “protect our food security in terms of milk and milk products.”
Reuters asked Modi’s office for comment, but they didn’t answer.
A person who knows how the government thinks has told Reuters in the past that straws are a “low-utility product” that should be replaced with paper straws or packs with redesigned spouts.
Sodhi didn’t respond to his letter, but he did say that Amul might have to stop selling packs with straws after July 1.
Small packs of juice and milk drinks that cost between 5 rupees and 30 rupees (7–40 U.S. cents) are very popular in India and are part of a much bigger market for such drinks.
Amul is a popular brand of milk, cheese, and chocolates. It is based in Gujarat, which is Modi’s home state in western India.
Top-selling drinks also include Pepsi’s Tropicana juice, Coca-Maaza, Cola’s and Parle Agro’s Frooti mango. Industry estimates say that India sells 6 billion of these packs every year.
The Action Alliance for Recycling Beverage Cartons, which is made up of big beverage companies, is represented by Praveen Aggarwal. He said that companies were thinking about importing paper straws from China, Indonesia, and other countries because of the coming ban.
He said, “There will be trouble.”
A person who knows about the situation said that Parle has also sent a letter to the Indian government saying that there is not enough production of alternative straws in India and that paper and biodegradable straws imported from other countries are about 250 percent more expensive.
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.
Pepsi and Coca-Cola declined to comment.
(This story refiles to remove extraneous text in the 4th bullet point)
India’s Amul asks Modi to put off the ban on plastic straws because it will hurt dairy farmers.
