Milma milk procurement dips as summer peaks in Kerala

With summer reaching its peak, milk procurement has seen a slight dip across the State, while there is no scarcity of supply by milk cooperative Milma.

While there appeared to be a fall in milk production due largely to the weather condition, arrivals from other States too had been affected marginally as milk production had dropped, said Kerala Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Chairman K.S. Mani.

The drop in milk procurement was around 9% when compared to last year, he said. The shortfall is made up largely through imports from neighbouring States. But the spread of lumpy skin disease among cows in some States has resulted in a dip in milk production. Daily procurement in Kerala is in the range of 14 lakh litres, while sales are to the tune of 16 lakh litres.

Ernakulam Regional Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union Chairman M.T. Jayan said there was a gap in procurement and sale of milk in the region comprising the districts of Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kottayam, and Idukki. Procurement is to the tune of 3.40 lakh litres a day, while sales stand at around 4.25 lakh litres. Most of the shortage is met through import.

Mr. Jayan said the shortfall in procurement was a normal phenomenon during summer, and dairy farmers were given incentives to increase production and sell milk to cooperatives. Mr. Mani said localised sale of milk had seen a spike with festivities coming back in strength after the pandemic.

The regional cooperatives take a beating in their margins because when milk is brought from States such as Maharashtra, the transportation cost is higher than when procured from neighbouring Tamil Nadu or southern parts of Andhra Pradesh.