Fix minimum and maximum prices for milk, industry appeals to T.N. government
Milk distributors, vendors, farmers, and consumers have urged the State government to fix the minimum and maximum retail prices for milk. They say the Milk
Milk distributors, vendors, farmers, and consumers have urged the State government to fix the minimum and maximum retail prices for milk. They say the Milk Commissioner, who also heads Aavin, should fix the prices to ensure that consumers are not affected. The demand comes in the wake of several private brands increasing milk prices. Other cooperatives such as Amul, Nandini, and Milma have also increased milk prices owing to a shortage of milk caused by extreme weather conditions. When dairies face a shortage of milk, they procure butter and milk powder and reconstitute them to produce milk. Though this is a common practice in the dairy industry to ensure the prescribed fat and solids-not-fat (SNF) content in milk, sources familiar with the matter say that Aavin has become increasingly dependent on this practice in recent times.
“Aavin’s milk procurement has not increased significantly, unlike that of other cooperatives. Amul has a cooperative society in every village in Gujarat and procures more than 3.5 crore litres of milk a day. Nandini procures 1.02 crore litres a day, while Aavin procures only about 35 lakh litres a day. Unless Aavin increases its procurement price, it will struggle financially even to procure and sell this quantity of milk,” an industry expert pointed out. Like rice and vegetables, milk prices too could be pegged to availability within a range fixed by the government so that consumers are not adversely affected, suggested consumer activist T. Sadagopan. “I know many consumers will be affected if Aavin raises milk prices. Hence, Aavin can increase the prices of niche products such as full-cream milk while keeping the price of toned milk affordable, since there are people who buy milk priced at ₹56, believing it is of better quality.
Aavin should also tweak its quality checks,” he added. S.A. Ponnusamy of the Tamil Nadu Milk Dealers Employees Welfare Association said: “If Aavin increases its selling price and, as a result, our commission also increases, everyone, including farmers, will benefit. Other brands too will increase commissions accordingly. Now, many dealers and wholesalers earn less when they sell Aavin products. But because of its popularity, dealers cannot forgo the brand. We have submitted a list of our demands to the government. We hope they will take action on them.” Returns of leaked packets should also be improved, he added. M.G. Rajendran of the Tamil Nadu Milk Producers Welfare Association said that the 4.5 lakh farmers supplying milk to Aavin were struggling to maintain their cows at the present milk procurement prices.
The BriefWire