ncrease in milk production and shortage of facility at Aavin to procure excess milk have left farmers in the lurch over the last few days, forcing farmers take turns to return home with their milk. Aavin could not procure milk since Sunday.
Milk producers here said that an increase in supply of milk to Aavin due to a hike in procurement price by Rs. 8 per litre in 2014 diverted milk sold from private dairies to Aavin. Recent showers facilitated green fodder growth, resulting in an increase in production to 2.93 lakh litres per day, against the capacity of 2 lakh litres.
Former Chairman of Coimbatore District Milk Producers Union S.R. Rajagopal said the factors resulted in backlog of 2.4 lakh litres milk in Coimbatore last weekend. He said there were about 25,000 farmer members of 585 milk producers unions that supplied milk to Aavin, Coimbatore – comprising Coimbatore (Perur), Shanmugapuram (Pollachi), Annur, Tirupur and Sultanpet.
He said stoppage of milk procurement in turn started with returning 63,000 litres milk to farmers at societies attached to Annur on Sunday, 70,000 litres in Pollachi on Monday, 70,000 litres in Perur on Tuesday and 90,000 litres from Sultanpet and Tirupur on Wednesday.
Mr. Rajagopal, who is also the patron of the Coimbatore District Milk Producers Welfare Union, said that last week the welfare union made a representation to B.V. Ramanaa, Minister for Milk and Dairy Development, and Commissioner of Aavin, stressing the need to increase the capacity of existing Aavin dairies across the State.
Other demands
Their other demands include computerisation and automation of the milk producer societies and dairies to ensure that only members of the societies supplied milk.
“It will end illegal supply of milk by non-members,” he said and sought diversion of excess milk to nearby States for making value-added milk products - like it was three years ago when there was excess milk production in Tamil Nadu.