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Chennai: Dairy development minister C Vijayalakshmi on Monday said TVK govt had increased Aavin’s milk procurement price by ₹3 a litre to ₹41, and was considering a further hike to ₹44 to meet the demands of dairy farmers.
We will consult chief minister C Joseph Vijay and consider increasing Aavin’s procurement price to ₹44 a litre,” the minister responded to a special call attention motion moved by former minister E V Velu and former chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami . Citing Kerala’s procurement price of ₹45 a litre, he urged govt to raise the rate in Tamil Nadu. Palaniswami sought a higher procurement price of ₹50 a litre for cow’s milk and ₹60 for buffalo milk, saying farmers were struggling to cope with rising input costs. She said its decision in 2021 to reduce the retail price of Aavin milk by ₹3 a litre had resulted in an additional annual loss of ₹270 crore to the cooperative.
Velu said rising cattle feed and maintenance costs had made it increasingly difficult for dairy farmers to supply milk to Aavin. “There is no disagreement over the need to increase the procurement price. Responding,Vijayalakshmi blamed the previous DMK govt for Aavin’s financial difficulties.