CHENNAI: PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss on Friday criticised the Tamil Nadu government and Aavin over the alleged decision to procure milk from neighbouring Karnataka at a higher cost, terming it a betrayal of the State’s milk producers and an economically unsound move.
In a statement, he said Tamil Nadu was among the leading milk-producing states in the country, with a daily production of about 1.70 crore litres.
However, Aavin procured only 30 to 34 lakh litres a day, accounting for just 17.6% to 20% of the total production. He said Aavin had the capacity to at least double procurement from within the State but had failed to take steps in that direction.
Anbumani pointed out that Aavin paid around Rs 38 per litre, including incentives, for cow milk in Tamil Nadu, while Karnataka offered Rs 47 per litre with incentives. Despite this price difference, Aavin was allegedly planning to purchase milk from Karnataka, which he said would result in heavy losses.
If Aavin procured 10 lakh litres of milk daily from Karnataka, it would incur a loss of Rs 50 lakh a day, amounting to nearly Rs 15 crore a month, he said, adding that the milk cooperative's annual losses could increase by another Rs 200 crore.
He urged the DMK government to drop the proposal and instead raise the procurement price of cow milk in Tamil Nadu to Rs 45 per litre, on par with Karnataka, to protect farmers and boost local procurement. He also alleged that delays in payment of incentives and higher prices offered by private dairies had pushed farmers away from Aavin.