The Tamil Nadu Milk Producers Welfare Association has urged the government to hike the procurement price of cow milk (with 4.3 per cent fat content and 8.2 per cent solid non fat content) to Rs. 30 a litre and buffalo milk (7 per cent fat and 8.8 per cent SNF content) to Rs. 40.
In a memorandum to Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, association president K.A. Sengottuvel and general secretary M.G. Rajendran said that though the government had fixed Rs. 23 as procurement price of the cow milk with 4.3 per cent fat and 8.2 per cent SNF content, the farmers were getting only Rs. 22.40 after the deductions made by the district milk producers union and the village-level milk producers societies.
Only 10 per cent of the animals gave milk of this quality, while the rest yielded milk with 3.8 per cent fat and 8.0 SNF content, owing to inadequate and sub-standard feed. The procurement price of such milk was Rs. 21.
Owing due to demand and competition, private dairies provide Rs. 3 to Rs. 9 more a litre, irrespective of the quality. Hence, farmers supplied milk to the private firms.
