Milk Producers Request Price Hike
The Coimbatore District Milk Producers Welfare Association has asked the Commissioner of Tamil Nadu Milk Producers Federation to pay higher price for the milk procured during the low production period. In a memorandum, the patron of the association, S.R. Rajagopal, said that the State Government increased the milk procurement price only in March. After the price rise, the inputs for dairy farming had gone up by Rs. 2 a kg while the cattle feed prices had gone up by 100 per cent. Hence, there was a pertinent need for increasing the milk price.
Mr.Rajagopal said that Coimbatore District Milk Producers Union has been netting substantial profit during the last four years. With the failure of monsoon, milk production was also coming down. Hence, to encourage dairy farmers during the low milk production period, the union should enhance the procurement price. A resolution to this effect had already been forwarded to the federation.According to the resolution an additional 0.25 paise a litre should be paid for the period between October and March of 2006-07 and Re. 1 a litre for the milk procured during 2007-08.
Hailing the Government decision to start 200 integrated dairy farming centres with 3,500 cows and 1,500 buffaloes through Women’s Self-help Groups, the association wanted the federation to ensure that milk producers who have been part of the milk producers associations for the last 20 to 30 years benefited from the scheme. The association said a minimum of two beneficiaries should be included in the panel being formed to buy the cattle for the scheme. Since there was a court stay on enlisting milk suppliers as union members with voting rights, the association suggested that even in the absence of voting rights, the union should take steps to give them a share of the profits.
The association said that the margin money being given to milk unions should not be less than 5 per cent. It should be given by the unions from the profits instead of deducting it from the milk producers. Mr. Rajagopal said that salaries for employees could be fixed on the basis of procurement and profit made by every union as an incentive to encourage the employees.
