Milk retailers and dealers have urged the State government to take steps to prevent sale of milk above the maximum retail price (MRP) by certain supermarkets.
“Some stores sell half litre milk packets for as less as ₹12 while the MRP is ₹20. This has led to consumers picking fights with retailers and distributors asking us why we are not selling milk at those prices. In a few places, shopkeepers are buying such low-priced milk from supermarkets and selling it to consumers,” said S.A. Ponnusamy, Tamil Nadu Milk Dealers and Employees Welfare Association.
Another dealer said that with retailers picking up milk from supermarkets, they were left with unsold stock. “We cannot refrigerate the milk for a long time since otherwise it will get spoilt. Also as consumers these days have begun buying milk by checking the use-by date, they do not accept old milk. We manage to sell milk from private dairies as they provide at least a day’s use-by date. But it is not the case with Aavin,” he said.
Consumers happy
Narayanan, a resident of Choolaimedu, said he was very happy that local supermarkets were reducing milk prices on some days. “We make panneer at home if there is extra milk. We can make a saving if we consume it as milk since some local shops and milk booths charge ₹1 above the MRP for a packet of milk, especially if it is from Aavin,” he said.
Consumer activist T. Sadagopan said that when supermarkets reduce prices, the question of quality of the product arises. “Though there is no rule calling it as unfair trade practice, which it is indeed as it hurts other sellers, legally it is not disallowed. The Consumer Protection Act must be amended to include this too as an offence. A product from a company should not be sold at different rates in different places,” he added.
