Milk producers suffer losses as procurement prices dip

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, April 1

Milk producers in villages are at the receiving end as procurement prices have witnessed a dip after bulk buyers such as sweets and dairy shops are closed due to the lockdown. Verka is procuring one liter of 6.5 fat quality milk for Rs44.25 and its price in the open market has crashed to around Rs25 per litre. But, the production cost of one liter of milk is more, causing losses to milk producers.

Sweats and dairy shops use lakhs of liter of milk daily after procuring it from suppliers. People associated with dairy farming said about four lakh liter of milk was distributed through this unorganised sector in the city and private milk processing plants in Amritsar and Tarn Taran had the capacity to handle seven to eight lakh liter of milk daily. But after the intervention of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, private milk processing plants in these two border districts were opened on Monday.

However, sources said these plant owners have expressed reluctance in regularly operating them without the restoration of the supply chain. In this scenario, milk producers in villages were donating surplus milk in nearby gurdwaras. People associated with dairy farming demand that the government must appoint a regulator to monitor the situation daily.

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