Mysuru: Chamarajanagar Milk Union (Chamul) reduced its procurement price by Re 1 per litre, effective Nov 11, impacting 35,000 milk producers in the district.
Chamul, which procures 2.80 lakh litres daily, previously paid Rs 31.2 per litre, but now offers Rs 30.2. It still continues to offer Rs 32.7 per litre for the best quality milk from producers.
Chamarajanagar has 465 primary cooperative milk producers' societies. Fluctuations in global skimmed powder and butter prices are attributed as some of the reasons for this price cut, according to Chamul officials.
Chamul managing director Rajkumar said that this price revision cut is temporary to avoid loss to the milk union caused by fluctuations in global skimmed milk powder and butter prices. Though the milk union is converting the excess milk it procures from milk producers into skimmed milk powder, butter, and other products and stocking them, there is not much demand for these products in both national and international markets right now. This price cut is temporary, and milk producers must cooperate with the union until the price stabilises in the international markets for its products, he said.
Meanwhile, the price slash by Chamul has drawn criticism from members of Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangha, Hasiru Sene, and other farmer organisations, as the milk-producing dairy farmers have been struggling to maintain dairy farming due to increases in prices of cattle feeds, fodder, labour, and other maintenance costs.
Chamarajanagar district unit secretary of Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangha Vijayakumar said that his association members already held a meeting headed by its unit chief, Honnur Basavanna, condemning the Chamul price cut by Rs 1 per litre for milk producers as it impacted the milk producers of the district. The KRRS members also held a protest outside the office of Chamul at Kuderu on Monday, seeking Chamul to withdraw its decision on the price cut on milk procurement in the larger interest of milk producers.