THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a huge relief to dairy farmers, Milma has decided to resume milk procurement from cooperatives without any restrictions from Friday. The decision was taken after Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation (Aavin) and Telangana State-based Dodla Dairy agreed to convert the excess milk procured by Milma into powder.
P A Balan, chairman, Milma, said there is no need for concerns on milk procurement and its availability. Aavin has agreed to convert 50,000 litres of milk into powder and Dodla Dairy will convert 1 lakh litres at its plant in Andhra Pradesh and 30,000 litres at the Dindigul plant, he said.
Owing to the dip in demand due to the lockdown, Milma is saddled with an excess 1,80,000 litres of milk daily. The glut is mainly experienced by the Malabar Regional Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union (MRCMPU) and the central region to some extent.
Tamil Nadu was initially reluctant to let in milk consignments from Kerala due to Covid-19 fears. This forced Milma to stop procurement in the Malabar region. At many places, dairy farmers protested by spilling the milk into the street.