Dairy Farmers Urge Tamil Nadu Govt. to Hike Procurement Prices

Farmers who supply milk to the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Producers Federation (Aavin) have asked the state government to increase procurement prices. 

M.G. Rajendran of the Tamil Nadu Milk Producers Welfare Association said farmers in Gujarat, where Amul is situated, will get an additional 1.50 per liter as a result of the boost, citing the example of another cooperative, Amul, which recently raised the selling price of milk by Rs.2 per liter. 

"The price of cattle feed and other milk production inputs have increased manifold. We spend around Rs.40 per liter but get much lesser than what is spent.  Since farmers can get cash quickly, many continue to keep milch animals. It's been more than 30 months since the last hike," he said.

He also mentioned that the amount of milk Aavin gets has decreased over the last month or so. 

"Right now, Aavin receives roughly 32 lakh liters of milk per day, down from 40 lakh liters per day in the previous two years.  As a result, the production of butter and skimmed milk powder has decreased. Both products are required for milk reconstitution," Mr. Rajendran said. 

Another milk producer stated that the number of farmers selling milk to Aavin has fallen in recent months due to greater procurement prices given by private dairies. 

"They recently raised their procurement price by Rs.3 to 4 per liter, which has resulted in a decrease in the number of dairy farmers supplying to Aavin.  If this trend continues, the state's three-tier cooperative system will collapse and farmers will be forced to rely on the private sector. The state government must intervene promptly to set right the situation,” he said.