Private milk producers up price by Rs 2 per litre

CHENNAI: Private milk producers in the city like Heritage, Dodla, Jeresy and Thirumala have hiked the price of all varieties of milk by Rs 2 with effect from Thursday.

This price hike was because of an increase in the prices of procurement said president of the Tamil Nadu Milk producers welfare association, K A Sengottuvel. "We are giving more to the producers and because of this increase in our procurement prices it has become necessary for us to increase our selling price," he said.

Officials at Tamil Nadu Co-operative Milk Producers' Federation Limited said that this move was not justified and while Aavin had also increased procurement price to Rs 16.64 from Rs 15.54 the cost of one litre of milk continued to remain the same at Rs 20.50 for toned milk.

Sengottuvel said that the various agencies like Tamil Nadu Milk Producers Welfare Association, Tamil Nadu Milk Producers Association, Thamizhaga Vivasayeegal Sangam and Tamil Nadu Toddy Movement were staging a protest on February 7 to ask the government to increase procurement price by Rs 5 for cow's milk and Rs 8 for buffalo's milk. "The state has increased the procurement price by a mere Rs 1.10 for cow's milk and Rs 2.20 for buffalo's milk. We want higher rates," he said.

While the cost of toned milk has gone up from Rs 24 per litre to Rs 26 per litre, the price of standardised milk has gone up to Rs 30 per litre, the price of full cream milk has gone up to Rs 34 per litre and the price of double toned milk has gone up to Rs 20 per litre.

Amul plan for MoU with Aavin to manufacture, market milk products

TIRUCHIRAPALLI: The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Limited, manufacturer of the AMUL brand of dairy products and ice creams proposed sign a MOU with AAVIN of Tamil Nadu to jointly manufacture and market milk products, a top company official said on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters here, V J Martin Paul, Senior Executive (Sales) said the company would expand its marketing activities in Tamil nadu this year in a big way, setting up about 400 retail outlets this fiscal for ice cream products, in addition to the existing 4,000.

Tamil Nadu accounts for an average 20 per cent growth a year. Last year the state saw a 19 per cent growth over the previous year as against the all India growth rate of 21 per cent in the year ending March 31, 2007.

The company recorded sales of Rs 4300 crore last year, of which Rs 451 crore was through sales of ice cream and allied of this amount, Tamil Nadu's share was Rs 25 crore, he said.

Eighteen per cent of the total volume in ice cream sales was through institutions like star hotels and restaurants and that by catering (parties/weddings), about 20 per cent. The balance was from retail sales or direct consumption.

Earlier, launching India's first fitness candy, STAMINA, S Balasubramanian, Deputy Manager (Sales) said the candy would be available in two flavours - orange and lemon in all outlets in India by June 21-23.

AMUL would soon come out with a new product "Spanish Delight", a mixture of Rasagollah and ice cream. The prudct would be launched at the national level before July end. the company planned to add five more manufacturing units in addition to the 11 in various parts of the country, he said.

 

Prices of Aavin milk not increased

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Producers Federation, which sells milk and milk products under the brand name Aavin, has said the retail prices of milk have not been increased and that action would be taken against those found selling at higher rates.

In Chennai, the Federation sells close to 10.45 lakh litres of milk everyday through private retailers, private wholesalers and also directly to cardholders. There are more than 3,000 retailers in the city.

The prices of Aavin milk sachets are lesser than those of private companies, reports that a couple of private retail shops were selling Aavin milk at high rates surfaced, said a press release.

The Federation also warned residents against paying more than the price stamped on milk sachets. According to the release, Aavin's half litre toned milk cost Rs 9 and one litre Rs 18; half-litre standardized milk Rs 11; half-litre full-cream milk Rs 12; half-litre double-toned milk Rs 9; and half-litre milk dispensed through automatic vending machines Rs 10.

No wait list, no problem

CHENNAI: The state-run Aavin milk federation doesnat have a waiting list of customers who want new cards for supply of milk. And thatas because it has stopped accepting new applications for cards.

Aavin staff says that they have stopped taking applications since the demand for milk is higher than the supply. The federation procures about 22 lakh litres per day. "The demand is almost double that," said an Aavin official. "Since the population in the city is increasing and we are unable to procure more milk, we are going slow on issuing new cards," he said.

There are about 13 lakh card holders in the state, of which Chennai accounts for 6.5 lakh. "We are not accepting applications for new cards from people," the official said, adding that they issue a few cards on an individual basis to "genuine cases". The federation last issued cards in bulk in March 2008 when it held a mela in eight zonal offices and 27 milk consumer societies across the city and its suburbs.

"I wanted a card from Aavin because it is cheaper to buy milk on a monthly subscription basis. I need two and a half litres every day. Unfortunately, I am not able to get a card and so have to pay more to buy milk in the open market. It stretches my budget," said S Sivagami, a homemaker from Adyar.

Aavin milk is heavily subsidised for cardholders. For instance, 500ml of toned milk with an MRP of Rs 10.25 is sold to monthly cardholders for Rs 8.90. "Due to poor milk quality and erratic supply by private brands, I wanted to apply for an Aavin card. I visited the office in Alwarpet a couple of months ago and was told it will not be possible to get one," said another homemaker.

Your milk is a mish-mash

CHENNAI: The picture of a cow on most milk sachets you buy may be deceiving: Most milk manufacturers in the country, including Tamil Nadu government-run Aavin, sell standardised milk that is usually a mix of buffalo and cow milk. Some private manufacturers even add goat or camel milk, depending on availability. Even milk products such as ghee, butter, cheese and sweets are made from milk that comes from different sources.

"We use very little buffalo milk," said an Aavin official. "We standardize all the milk before selling because it comes from different herds and farms across the state," he added.

Blended milk is not a major health concern, except for people who are allergic to a particular animal fat. Officials at the National Dairy Development Board in Anand, Gujarat, say that Indian manufacturers now focus on varieties such as slim, toned, double toned and full cream milk.

"This is a global scenario as well. But the difference between products in India and some developed countries like the US, UK and Australia is that that the manufacturers here are not bound by law to mention the source of milk. Most products abroad will mention the source along with the ratio of blend," said a senior official from the National Diary Research Institute.

In India, the Food Safety Act mandates manufacturers to mention the variety of milk but the source is optional. In each category, there are specific nutritional values -- full cream milk has 6% fat, slim milk has 1.5% fat and toned has 3.5%. If the manufacturers choose to mention the source, then they should ensure that prescribed standard is maintained.

For instance, fat in buffalo milk is 6%. When the milk is diluted with water, the fat level drops. Some milk vendors dilute it and sell it as cowas milk. "It is common in rural areas. We found that nearly 40% of the milk sold is diluted or misbranded," said Dr Ganesan, joint director, Directorate of Public Health, Tamil Nadu.

CM rules out hike in milk procurement price, stir on

CHENNAI: As the milk farmers' agitation in the state entered the seventh day, chief minister M Karunanidhi on Sunday hinted that it would not be possible to go in for another hike in milk procurement price as it would affect the consumers.

He said during the DMK regime, though the government had hiked the procurement price four times, the sale price was not increased. "If we continue to increase the procurement price, the burden will fall on the consumers," he said.

Dairy farmers launched an indefinite strike from February 7 demanding higher procurement price from the state-owned Aavin. The stir has been intense in Erode district. Farmers have been blocking roads with their cattle and pouring the milk on the streets, disrupting supplies to state-owned Aavin.

The state government had recently increased the procurement price of cow's milk to Rs 6.60 per litre and that of buffalow milk to Rs 12.70 per litre.

On Sunday morning, revenue officials shut down three private dairies at Chennimalai, Kannirowther kulam and Manalmedu in Erode and two farms in neighbouring Sithode which were functioning without necessary licences.

"We sealed the dairies following instructions from the Dairy Development Commissioner as they had not obtained necessary licences," a revenue official said. These dairies were targetted because they were procuring milk from the striking farmers and obstructing supplies to the Aavin, official sources said.

However, Aavin struggled hard to maintain their regular supplies to customers in Erode. Farmers supplied just 58,000 litres of milk to Aavin, which is- just one-fourth of the normal procurement.

Aavin used to get about 2.1 lakh litres of milk from 25,000 farmers daily. About one lakh litres are dispatched to Chennai, while 1.2 lakh litres are suppled in Erode district. "We are managing to maintain the supplies with our existing stocks. There will be no shortage of milk. We are taking all steps to ensure proper supply tomorrow (Monday ) too," the Erode Aavin general manager, D Rajarajan said.

An Aavin official in Chennai denied reports that due to the demand for milk, Aavin is procurring three lakh litres milk from neighbouring Karnataka.

More than 100 milk producers from the villages of Usilampatti and its surroundings, led by K S Subburaj, joint general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Milk Producers union, staged a demonstration and blocked the Theni-Madurai highway, on Sunday morning disrupting traffic for more than an hour. Milk producers also staged similar protests in various southern districts in Tenkasi in Tirunelveli district. Meanwhile, police sources said more then 3,500 protesters were arrested across the state on Sunday.

Milk supply hit only in a few parts during strike

CHENNAI: Milk supply was unaffected in the city on Tuesday despite the strike by milk producers as the surplus from the districts was diverted here. Aavin officials said operations and procurement had resumed in Perambalur and only parts of Salem, Erode and Dharmapuri had been hit.

Milk producers and suppliers, however, said the shortage would be felt only on Wednesday. Tamil Nadu State Milk Producers Welfare Association president Sengottuvel claimed that 75% of milk procurement was hit. "In Tiruchi, the procurement was only 40,000 litres of the required 1.4 lakh litres, while in Erode it was 40,000-50,000 litres against the demand of 1.5 lakh litres. The shortage will be felt only on Wednesday," he said

Sengottuvel added that the strike would continue as no talks were held over the issue of raising the prices of cow milk and buffalo milk by Rs 5 and Rs 8 respectively.

He claimed that the state government was procuring milk powder from other states to be mixed with butter and sold as milk on Wednesday and that such a move would affect the health of the people.

An Aavin official said: "We are not going to raise the prices further and pass them on to customers." Aavin distributes 10.5 lakh litres of milk to the city and around 10 lakh litres in the state.