With the festival of light – Deepavali – fast approaching, preparation of sweets, always an integral part of such festivals, is also going on full swing.
However, with the much sought-after Aavin ghee and butter not available in Madurai and Theni for months of late, its residents are hoping that at least this festive season would see the sales of these two products.
Bowing to popular demand, the Madurai Aavin Union has sought the nod of Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Milk Producers' Federation to recommence sales of butter and ghee with particular focus on the current Deepavali season, official sources told The Hindu in Madurai on Monday.
At present, sales of these two products have been halted for the last ten months. Aavin headquarters had instructed the Madurai Aavin to supply 10 tonnes of butter to Chennai every month since May.
The popularity of these products could be gauged from the last year's Deepavali sales figures of 10 tonnes and 5 tonnes of ghee and butter respectively. The total sales during Deepavali last year was Rs. 1 crore, of which profits were 10 per cent (Rs. 10 lakh), sources said.
The Madurai Aavin has pointed out to the Managing Director that Madurai was perhaps next only to Chennai in Tamil Nadu in terms of size and hence a large quantity of sales of these two products could be expected.
District Collector N. Mathivanan, who is also the Special Officer of Madurai Aavin, has approved last year's sales target of sweets for the current year also.
In the last Deepavali season, the sales targets were: Gulab Jamun one tonne, Milk Peda three tonne, and Mysore Pa seven tonne. Aavin officials expressed hope that this year's Deepavali sales would exceed last year's by at least two tonnes.
