Kozhikode, Apr 1 (PTI): Dairy farmers in Kerala are
bearing the brunt of the 21-day-lockdown imposed to prevent
the spread of pandemic COVID-19, as the Kerala Co-operative
Milk Marketing Federation, better known as MILMA, stopped
milk procurement on Wednesday due to excess stock with them.
The decision was following the neighbouring Tamil Nadu
deciding to halt the procurement of milk from Kerala as they
have enough and extra stock following the lockdown.
Kerala Minister of Animal husbandry and Dairy
Development K Raju tol reporters that talks have been held
with dairy units in Tamil Nadu to send the excess milk from
Kerala to manufacture milk powder.
“We are holding discussions with many companies in
Tamil Nadu. The discussion is to convert excess milk in the
state to manufacture milk powder in the factories there. If
they agree to it, we will send milk there,” Raju said.
K S Mani, chairman of Malabar Regional Co-operative
Milk Producers Union (MRCMPU), the north Kerala arm of MILMA,
said they were forced to stop milk procurement on Wednesday
due to excess of stock with them.
“We have been procuring the maximum and sharing the
excess with our Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapruam MILMA
dairies. But the lockdown had witnessed a sharp fall in sales
across the state to as low as 45-50 per cent. This led to
surplus milk remaining with us as other dairies were not in
need of our excess milk, he said.
He also said Tamil Nadu decided not to accept milk from
Kerala as they themselves have enough and extra stock.
“Hence we were forced to stop procuring today
(Wednesday). And we have decided to procure milk in the
morning only, which is about 65 per cent, henceforth. Usual
procurement of milk in the evenings has been temporarily
stopped,” Mani said.
The MRCMPU procures about six lakh litres of milk
everyday and with procurement limited to morning only, the
milk they collected would be about four lakh litres from
Thursday.
“I have been talking to the Minister and the Chief
Ministers office about a possible solution in utilising the
excess stock we will have…This milk, about two lakh litres
every day, could well be distributed among the destitute and
the homeless in relief camps and the guest workers through
community kitchens,” he added.
The dairy farmers in Palakkad were seen dumping milk
into pits as they lacked facility to store the excess
produce.
Sources said around 80,000 litres of milk was disposed
of as the business came down following the lockdown. PTI CORR
RRT
NVG NVG
bearing the brunt of the 21-day-lockdown imposed to prevent
the spread of pandemic COVID-19, as the Kerala Co-operative
Milk Marketing Federation, better known as MILMA, stopped
milk procurement on Wednesday due to excess stock with them.
The decision was following the neighbouring Tamil Nadu
deciding to halt the procurement of milk from Kerala as they
have enough and extra stock following the lockdown.
Kerala Minister of Animal husbandry and Dairy
Development K Raju tol reporters that talks have been held
with dairy units in Tamil Nadu to send the excess milk from
Kerala to manufacture milk powder.
“We are holding discussions with many companies in
Tamil Nadu. The discussion is to convert excess milk in the
state to manufacture milk powder in the factories there. If
they agree to it, we will send milk there,” Raju said.
K S Mani, chairman of Malabar Regional Co-operative
Milk Producers Union (MRCMPU), the north Kerala arm of MILMA,
said they were forced to stop milk procurement on Wednesday
due to excess of stock with them.
“We have been procuring the maximum and sharing the
excess with our Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapruam MILMA
dairies. But the lockdown had witnessed a sharp fall in sales
across the state to as low as 45-50 per cent. This led to
surplus milk remaining with us as other dairies were not in
need of our excess milk, he said.
He also said Tamil Nadu decided not to accept milk from
Kerala as they themselves have enough and extra stock.
“Hence we were forced to stop procuring today
(Wednesday). And we have decided to procure milk in the
morning only, which is about 65 per cent, henceforth. Usual
procurement of milk in the evenings has been temporarily
stopped,” Mani said.
The MRCMPU procures about six lakh litres of milk
everyday and with procurement limited to morning only, the
milk they collected would be about four lakh litres from
Thursday.
“I have been talking to the Minister and the Chief
Ministers office about a possible solution in utilising the
excess stock we will have…This milk, about two lakh litres
every day, could well be distributed among the destitute and
the homeless in relief camps and the guest workers through
community kitchens,” he added.
The dairy farmers in Palakkad were seen dumping milk
into pits as they lacked facility to store the excess
produce.
Sources said around 80,000 litres of milk was disposed
of as the business came down following the lockdown. PTI CORR
RRT
NVG NVG
Disclaimer :- This story has not been edited by Outlook staff and is auto-generated from news agency feeds. Source: PTI
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