The Hindu : Business : 8.5 p.c. SNF ensured in milk from Kannur

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 19, 2005

Business

Business

8.5 p.c. SNF ensured in milk from Kannur

Staff Reporter

Standardisation saves money for Milma, pays good price to farmers

KANNUR: Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (MILMA) has initiated concerted efforts to standardise quality of milk by ensuring increase of fat and solid non-fat (SNF) content in milk being procured from dairy farmers.

Milma chairman P.T. Gopala Kurup said at a press conference here on Tuesday that the Malabar Regional Co-operative Milk Producers' Union, Milma's arm in the northern districts, had initiated various measures to check adulteration and improve quality through awareness and training programmes.

He said that as a result of these measures, the average percentage of SNF in milk procured for the Kannur Dairy in September was 8.5. This was the first time that the milk procured from a district recorded an average 8.5 SNF percentage. The MRCMPU had been initiating these measures since 2001.

Mr. Kurup said that the achievement of the Kannur Dairy would be repeated in Milma's dairies in other districts. The MRCMPU had introduced price arrangements and incentives for the farmers to ensure quality of milk being procured. The Milma chairman said that supply of quality milk would ensure good price for the farmers. The standardisation of SNF in the entire State would save Rs.3 crores for Milma which would not have to mix milk powder with the milk to ensure 8.5 per cent SNF.

Chairman the MRCMPU P. Gopinatha Pillai, who was also present at the press conference, said that the union had recorded a sales turnover of Rs. 157.39 crores in 2004-05. Nearly 80,000 dairy farmers were giving milk through member societies a day, he said. The Kannur Dairy alone procured 25,000 litres of milk a day through 98 societies. The average daily milk production in the district was 1.05 lakh litres, he said.

Mr. Pillai said the MRCMPU had recorded surplus procurement since May last. The union transferred 55.35 lakh litres of milk to other unions and 18.12 lakh litres of milk for converting into powder from April 1 to August 31, he said.

Mr. Pillai said the union had suffered a loss of Rs.2 crores due to the surplus procurement as well as hike in petroleum prices. To cushion this loss, procurement price had been cut down by 50 paise a litre. The union could annually save Rs. 20 lakhs by ensuring 8.5 per cent SNF in milk, he pointed out.

Mr. Pillai said that quality of milk could be ensured only by equipping 80,000 farmers and 780 societies in the region. The MRCMPU also had plans to set up automatic milk collection centres, coolers to increase bacterial quality of milk, he said adding that the union would seek the assistance of the National Dairy Development Board.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Business