Scarcity of milk shrinks supply of products like butter
MId-day: If you are a butter person, better stock up. The supply of butter, which stands at a mere five per cent of demand now, is expected to hit new lows in the next 30 days.
Dairy experts say major producers like Amul, Gowardhan, Govind and Varna are grappling with a milk supply crunch caused by droughts in major milk producing areas in the country.
Said Surya Dalvi, who owns Nandan Dairy in Aundh, “I am able to meet just five per cent of the market demand. I need 150 packs of butter a week, and all I have been getting from my suppliers in the last month-and-a-half is 10.
Other retailers of milk products are as affected by the shortage.
Ramesh Shah, retailer of butter in Model Colony, says, “There is a shortage of milk products. Only the manufacturers would be able to tell you why.”
According to Srikant Unichkar, a dealer of Gowardhan milk products, production of milk in Pune has fallen from 5 tonnes a month to 1.5 ton. “I expect the shortfall to continue for another month after which the production should return to normal,” Unichkar said S D Mali, the assistant dairy development officer at the Milk Cooperative Society, blames the drought for the scarcity of milk. “Due to a drought-like situation in some parts of the country, the farmers have not been selling grains to dairies, as they have none to spare. There was no grain for the cows to consume, which has affected the production of milk adversely. We use to collect over 25 lakh tonnes of milk in Pune. The supply has shrunk to 20 lakh tonnes,” he said.
Market leader Amul, which has 90 per cent of the market share of butter in Maharashtra, however, believes the problem is not as serious as it is being projected.
Said R S Sodhi, the chief general manager, Amul, “The production of butter is 20 per cent lower than last year but it will pick up soon. Our sales grew by 30 per cent between April to July, which is why we are facing a shortage now.”
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