Faced with rising prices of cattle feed, milk producers supplying to Aavin have urged the government to increase the procurement price of milk by at least Rs.10 a litre immediately to help them tide over a crisis situation.
They have also urged the government to streamline the functions of Aavin so as to strengthen marketing on a par with private dairies. Hiking the price for milk was imperative as a large number of families were dependent on the income from livestock. The hike in the prices of cattle feed and the impact on the margins has put them under severe economic stress. Some of them have resorted to distress selling of milch animals, milk producers say.
“I had 30 cows and have been supplying to Aavin for the past 20 years; this was my primary income. But I have sold 20 cows this year due to mounting losses as the prices of kambu, kadalai punnakku, paruthi punakku, cattle feed mix and even hay have gone up sharply. I have now ventured into sheep rearing, hoping for better returns. Many milk suppliers are faced with similar situation,” said M. Ramaiah, a milk producer of Kalingamudayanpatti near Thuraiyur
“The previous hike in procurement price was made a few years ago. The procurement price should be hiked every year by Rs.1- 2 a litre just as increments and Dearness Allowance hikes are given to government servants regularly. We need at least Rs.50 a litre of milk now as many rural families dependent on their livestock are struggling to make both ends meet,” observed N.Kandasamy, president, Manapparai Taluk Cooperative Milk Producers Society.
Mr.Kandasamy contends that consumers would not mind paying a higher price for quality product. Many private dairies were already selling at a higher price than Aavin, he pointed out.
He claimed that the demand for milk was more than 1.50 crore litres a day but Aavin was supplying just about 35-40 lakh litre a day. There was enormous scope for increasing sales through proper marketing, he maintained.
Milk supply is an important part of the income of rural households. But milk producers are sustaining losses, but most them continue to retain their milch animals for want of an alternative income, said N. Ganesan, Joint Secretary, Tamil Nadu Milk Producers’ Welfare Association. The association has been demanding that the procurement price of cow’s milk be hiked Rs.42 a litre and that of buffalo milk to Rs.51 a litre.
Aavin needs to increase local sale of milk and streamline marketing. Many of the Aavin agents also happen to be agents for private dairies. As the private dairies offer a higher commission, the agents push their products, Mr.Ganesan alleged.
The association also demanded that Aavin restore the cattle feed subsidy of Rs.2 a kg given to milk producers earlier but suspended about two years ago.
