Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Shortage of milk in district to last till May

Staff Reporter

Supply position not expected to improve till May Milma to cut short milk processing, supply in four districts

Thiruvananthapuram: An acute shortage in procurement of milk by the Kerala Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (KCMMF-Milma) has affected milk supply and distribution in the district. With Milma forced to cut short milk processing and supply by 15 to 20 per cent in the southern districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha, consumers are likely to feel the pinch.

Milma officials said the shortage was likely to last a while and that the supply position was not expected to improve till May.

The shortage of milk was felt acutely by consumers on Saturday and Sunday when Milma cut its supply by almost 40 per cent.

The district usually requires about 2.1 lakh litres of milk daily while only about 1.2 lakh litres could be supplied on these two days.

Low sales

As the sales is generally low on Sundays, Milma managed to make up the shortfall. On Monday, the supply was normal. However, uncertainty prevails in the market.

The State has always been heavily dependent on milk procured from the neighbouring States of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka for meeting its daily requirement. Milma has, since the 1980s, had long-term agreements with its sister federations (milk cooperatives) in the neighbouring States for year-long supply of milk.

Only 50 per cent of the milk requirement is locally procured in the four southern districts and the rest is brought from outside the State.

Local procurement

The daily sales in the four districts under Thiruvananthapuram region is 4.5 lakh litres a day. The local procurement is only about 2.3 lakh litres a day.

Milma usually procures 2 lakh litres from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and the rest is made up by diverting the surplus milk from either Ernakulam or Malabar regions.

The Tamil Nadu Federation stopped supplying milk to the State since September last, claiming that they had to meet the heavy demand for milk powder. This year, the Ernakulam and Malabar regions too do not have surplus milk that can be diverted and hence Milma is now totally dependent on Karnataka for meeting its short supply.

"We have a current shortage of 2.2 lakh litres a day in the Thiruvananthapuram region. Today, Karnataka supplied us 1.13 lakh litres. But they have informed us that they will not be able to give more than 62,000 litres a day from tomorrow. We have no option but to impose a cut in market supply," said Baby Joseph, the managing director of the Thiruvananthapuram Regional Cooperative Milk Producer's Union (TRCMPU).

Production

The shortage in milk production is a national phenomenon this year and the Karnataka Federation, though they have made no commitment, has expressed its willingness to help out once the milk production in Karnataka improves, he added.

Milma, a farmers' cooperative movement, has always had the monopoly in the market. Though several private sector dairy companies are operating in the market here, Milma has always managed to hold on to its market share.

However, the milk shortage during the past two days has helped many private dairy brands make inroads into the market, officials admit. Private dairies too depend heavily on milk imported from other States, these can access a variety of sources while Milma has been sourcing milk only from its sister federations citing quality issues. The last time, Milma faced a crisis of this proportion was in 1991- 92, after which it has been very careful about renewing its annual supply contracts with the neighbouring States so as not to affect the market.

This year, the management seems to have failed to anticipate the crisis, despite the fact that Thiruvananthapuram region's local milk procurement has been at an all-time low for the past three years, sources at Milma said.

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