Milk procurement in the State is likely to be hit again with Tamil Nadu reportedly refusing to accept milk from Kerala citing COVID-19 concerns.
A frantic Kerala Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Milma) has urged the State Government to take up the matter with Tamil Nadu.
Faced with glut due to reduced milk sales following the lockdown, the Malabar Regional Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union (MRCMPU) of Milma has been converting large quantities of unsold milk into milk powder in co-operative and privately-owned plants in Tamil Nadu.
If the issue did not get sorted out at the government-level by Tuesday, Milma may be forced to temporarily halt milk procurement in north Kerala districts, Milma officials said.
Milma’s Malabar regional union covers the six northern districts of Kerala where the milk procurement is relatively higher compared to the rest of the State.
“Against a daily milk procurement of six lakh litres, sales have tumbled to 2.5 lakh litres. We have been converting the unsold milk to milk powder in Tamil Nadu. We understand that the Tamil Nadu Health Department has issued an advisory against accepting milk from Kerala now,’’ K. Vijayakumaran, MRCMPU managing director, said.
MRCMPU has apprised Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Chief Secretary Tom Jose of the situation.
Last week, Milma was forced to declared a one-day ‘holiday’ for milk procurement in north Kerala following a massive dip in lockdown period sales.
