Aavin struggling to tide over pandemic crisis as stocks pile up

“Though Aavin has been regularly participating in e-auctions the poor prevailing price of around Rs.180 per kilo for skimmed milk powder has resulted in Aavin being unwilling to sell at a loss,” officials said. Following instructions from the government that milk from farmers should continue to be procured, the milk major saw daily procurement touching 40 lakh litres per day as Aavin was the only government dairy procuring milk.

The private dairies in a bid to cut losses during the lockdown stopped milk procurement. This included dairies from outside the state, sources revealed.

Asked if lack of goods movement affected the milk major, officials replied in the negative as milk was an essential commodity there were no restrictions.

“However, many milk buyers being affected by lack of cash caused by job losses resulted in sales dipping” an official source said, adding “though milk powder has a one-year shelf life, getting rid of accumulated stocks is now the priority as six months have already passed.”

Vellore Aavin officials were taken by surprise when Collector A Shanmuga Sundaram undertook a surprise inspection of the dairy at Sathuvachary on Tuesday.

He questioned officials including Aavin Chairman D Velazhagan and General Manager PM Ganesa on various aspects and ordered them to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for the construction of a new building to replace an old and dilapidated structure on the premises.