While the State-owned Aavin has managed to maintain its average sale of milk, many private dairies in Tiruchi have reported a dip in sales.
While the total lockdown has been in force since May 10, sale of milk by Aavin and private dairies remained unaffected until the third week of May, as tea and coffee stalls continued to serve customers.. The sales began to take a hit only after all the stalls were strictly ordered to close so as to prevent customers crowding in front of them.
According to industry sources, about 10% of the milk produced is supplied to tea and coffee stalls. While a section of tea stall owners prefers to buy Aavin milk, others buy milk produced by private dairies. The private diaries now report zero sales on account of closure of tea stalls for the last 10 days.
Since the supply chain has largely been disrupted due to the total lockdown, private dairy firms also find it difficult to sell milk procured from farmers. Closure of hostels and restrictions on conducting marriages is also said to have impacted the sales.
“Barring supply to households, all other sale points have been closed. It is a tough time for dairy firms that do not infrastructure to produce value-added products. Hence, most of the small dairy firms have reduced milk procurement from farmers,” said a private milk operator in Tiruchi.
However, according to sources, Aavin has managed to achieve the daily sales target through its retail outlets and agents. But sale of ghee, ice cream, butter, buttermilk and curd has been hit.
A senior official of Tiruchi District Milk Producers Union (Aavin) told The Hindu that while there was some strain in post-procurement management, sale of milk had not come down.
“On an average, we sell 1.20 lakh litres of milk in Tiruchi, Ariyalur and Perambalur daily. We manage to achieve the target and we ensure uninterrupted supply of milk to the people,” the official said.
