Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Wednesday directed the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Federation, Aavin, to hike the procurement price of milk by ₹3 per litre from December 18.
Farmers selling milk to Aavin’s primary cooperative societies will now get ₹38 per litre for cow milk and ₹47 per litre for buffalo milk. The announcement comes when dairy farmers have been clamouring for an increase in procurement price due to a quantum leap in cost of farm inputs.
Minister for Dairy Development Mano Thangaraj told The Hindu that the expenditure incurred for the hike would not be passed on to the consumers. “We will retain the current prices of milk. The State government will bear the additional cost since the Chief Minister does not want consumers to be affected,” he said.
At present, Aavin procures around 32.5 lakh litres of milk a day and sells a little over 14 lakh litres a day in Chennai and suburbs.
Elaborating on the steps being taken for the welfare of dairy farmers, the Minister said that the recently-introduced system of spot acknowledgement for milk at cooperative societies had been paying dividends.
“Farmers are getting better prices for good quality milk due to this. We hope that with this hike more farmers will provide milk to Aavin,” he said.
On Aavin’s efforts to increase milk procurement, he said that in the last two months, cattle loans worth ₹210 crore had been processed. “We will ensure availability of cattle too. A plan is being formulated to make societies economically viable,” he said.
Meanwhile, M.G. Rajendran, general secretary, Tamil Nadu Milk Producers’ Welfare Association, said the hike was not commensurate to the expenses incurred by farmers. “We had been demanding an increase of ₹15 per litre for cow milk and ₹20 per litre for buffalo milk. Many farmers have left the cooperative fold due to competitive prices being paid by private dairies. This increase, would at the most, prevent more people from moving...,” he said.
Earlier in the day, on behalf of Uzhavar Perunthalaivar Narayanasamy Naidu’s Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, over 100 dairy farmers staged a protest demanding a hike in procurement prices before the Salem Aavin plant.
The government should also provide adequate loans to farmers for buying cattle and provide fodder at a subsidised rate, demanded R. Velusamy, president of the Sangam.
