CHENNAI: PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss on Sunday urged the Tamil Nadu government to constitute an expert committee to address the "financial and administrative crisis" plaguing the state-owned dairy cooperative Aavin.
Indicating that Aavin has suspended the production of over 100 dairy products, including butter, paneer and milk powder, which enjoy immense demand among consumers, he said it is "deeply shocking".
The PMK leader, citing a media report, said, "It is condemnable that Aavin, a premier state-owned cooperative enterprise that ought to be built up to compete with the likes of Amul, is being allowed to deteriorate to this extent."
In a statement, he said Aavin enjoys widespread public trust and demand for all its products, including milk. However, Aavin is currently struggling to meet market demands, he claimed.
"While currently fulfilling only 15 per cent to 16 per cent of the state's total milk requirement, Aavin has now completely stopped manufacturing several value-added products," he claimed, adding, "Out of more than 230 dairy products previously produced and marketed by Aavin, production of items such as paneer, butter, various milkshakes, milk powder, dry fruit powders (almond, pistachio, walnut mixes), cookies, and chocolates has been suspended in recent times."
Anbumani said, "It remains unclear what operational bottlenecks prevent Aavin from meeting the huge public demand for butter, paneer, ghee, and flavoured cold beverages."
He said in 2021, Aavin’s daily milk procurement touched a peak of 41 lakh litres. However, procurement gradually declined to 28 lakh litres per day by August this year. Following an increase in procurement prices from Rs 38 to Rs 44 per litre, procurement recently recovered to around 32 lakh litres per day.
"Therefore, the state government must immediately set up an expert committee to analyse Aavin’s current operations and recommend steps to ensure its financial health and profitability," he said, adding, "In the interim, Aavin must ensure that all varieties of milk, paneer, butter, ghee, and other dairy products are produced and distributed to consumers at full capacity."