The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Milk shortage to continue

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 10, 2010
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Kerala

Kerala - Kochi

Milk shortage to continue

Special Correspondent

Ernakulam region needs an additional quantity of about 2.25 lakh litres of milk a day
‘State needs to incentivise dairy farming to improve production’

KOCHI: With the milk production entering a lean season, the market is facing a shortage of the commodity.

The shortage is likely to worsen during the summer season. Kerala is heavily dependent on neighbouring States to meet its demand for milk. The present shortage is the result of reduced arrivals from States such as Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

The Ernakulam region of Kerala Milk Marketing Federation Limited (Milma), one of the three marketing regions of the State-wide cooperative body, requires an additional quantity of about 2.25 lakh litres of milk daily.

The domestic procurement is about 1.4 lakh litres. The arrival from Tamil Nadu is about 30,000-35,000 litres, and it has dwindled in recent days. The additional requirement is being met by milk supply from Karnataka and other States. Karnataka too is non-committal on providing the required quantity, according to M.T. Jayan, the newly elected chairman of the Ernakulam regional wing.

Milma supplies 11-12 lakh litres of milk daily in Kerala, out of which 4 lakh litres are procured from other States, according to official sources.

“Concerted efforts are required to retain the farmers in dairy sector”, Mr. Jayan told The Hindu. “Dairy farming should become a profitable venture to attract more investors,” he said. Citing the example of vanilla and rubber cultivation, he said a lot of farmers took to vanilla farming when it fetched good returns. Rubber cultivation too owed its success to the comfortable market price, he noted. “Despite a host of problems faced by the dairy sector, we had been able to sustain the interest of the farmers. But the organisation is not free to take decisions for the welfare of the farmers while the employees have to be paid wages as per government regulations”, he pointed out.

Milma had recently recommended a hike in the selling price of milk so that the farmer could be provided with incentives, but the government is yet to take a decision.

The proposal was to increase the price of milk by Rs.3 a litre. As per the proposal, out of Rs.3, farmers will be given Rs.2.50 for every litre of milk procured.

He said the market price of toned milk, the popular variety of milk, sold at Rs.20 per litre in Kerala, is available in most States at a higher price, at Rs.22-24 per litre. In Karnataka, the price is less thanks to a subsidy component exceeding Rs.2 per litre, Mr. Jayan said.

PDDP, a private cooperative milk marketing society based in Ernakulam, is also unable to meet the demand. There had been an increase of about 8,000 litres in the daily output of milk processed in recent months because of sustained efforts of the society, but it is not adequate, says Paul Thomas, Marketing Manager of PDDP Central Society, Kalady. The society is of the opinion that the milk prices be increased as the input costs have increased much.

An expert committee, headed by R. Hali, a former Director in Agriculture Department, appointed by the government, had made a study on the dairy sector and recommended increase in subsidy on cattle feed, as a potential means to increase the milk output.

But such measures may take considerable time to make an impact while the consumers will have to put up with shortage of milk in the medium term.

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

Kerala