Lockdown turns profitable for KMF’s Dharwad unit

J Abbas Mulla | Apr 28, 2020, 04:00 IST

Hubballi: Lockdown has become synonymous with loss for thousands of people associated with small, medium and micro industries. However, the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) is certainly not one of them. The cooperative has registered a sound profit across its various branches, and the KMF unit in Dharwad has certainly had the rub of green in this trying period.
The Dharwad District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union Ltd (DAMUL), which collects and supplies milk to Dharwad, Haveri, Gadag and Uttara Kannada districts, has, thanks to the state government’s decision to supply milk to slum-dwellers free of cost, been selling 25,000 litres more than it was during the lockdown. Consequently, this has translated into a daily profit of Rs 9 lakh per day.
The Dharwad unit of KMF collected, prior to the lockdown coming into force, 2.1 lakh litres from dairy farmers across the four districts under its jurisdiction. Although there were those who feared that the closure of restaurants and hotels might impact its revenue, since these establishments accounted for the sale of nearly 10,000 litres per day. However, the government’s decision to supply milk free of cost to those in slums has not merely offset the loss, but helped the cooperative turn a healthy profit.
DAMUL president Basavaraj Arabgond said, “Chief minister BS Yediyurappa’s timely decision to collect milk from KMF to supply to those in slums meant that we were selling more than we did before the lockdown. The state government is procuring milk from KMF for Rs 37 per litre, and giving it away for free.”
KMF purchases milk from dairy farmers at Rs 24.25 per litre of standard 3.5% fat and 8.5% SNF milk.