Kerala Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Limited (Milma) is keen on taking up a project for production and marketing of organic milk.
The project intended to venture into the international market where the demand for organic products is high, P.T. Gopala Kurup, Chairman of Milma told The Hindu .
The project envisaged to produce organic milk conforming to international standards and to market the product using world class packaging methods. One of the main problems confronting the organisation was the capital investment required for the project. About Rs.30 crore was required for setting up a world class packaging unit. The Federation had submitted a proposal to the previous government at the Centre, seeking aid, but failed to get sanction.
The federation had implemented several schemes with the support of Union government in the past. For instance, the Indo-Swiss project that intended to help improve milk supply was implemented with 70 per cent loan and 30 per cent Central grant. Certain other projects received 100 per cent grant from Centre. Efforts were on to revive the organic milk project, he said.
Allocation for State
Milma executed projects for upgrading the quality of milk for which support was being extended at the primary milk producers’ society level, he said. Under the National Programme for Dairy Development being executed now, the State had been allocated Rs.47 crore. The programme was originally conceived with a view to having funds worth Rs.15 crore for each district, Mr. Kurup said.
Milma’s new projects had seen an encouraging performance last year. The net profit increased by 144 per cent in 2013-14 compared to the previous year, while the revenue grew by 29 per cent. Though the State continued to depend upon neighbouring States to meet the milk requirement, procurement recorded an increasing trend in the State.
Milk procurement recorded 7 per cent increase, with the average procurement reaching 9.41 lakh litres daily in 2013-14 compared to 8.79 lakh litres in the previous year. The average sale during the last fiscal was 11.86 lakh litres per day. The shortfall was met by procurement from neighbouring States such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh & Maharashtra, apart from use of Skimmed Milk Powder (SMP), according to data available from the organisation.
Net profit up by 144 per cent in 2013-14 compared to last year
