Maharashtra: Govt announced Rs 25 per liter as minimum procurement price of milk

Pashu Sandesh, 20^th July 2018

To end the milk agitation in the state, Maharashtra government on Thursday announced that, the dairies will pay a minimum procurement price of Rs 25 per liter for milk with 3.5 percent fat and 8.5 SNF to the farmers from 21 July. The government also announced that it will provide a subsidy of Rs 5 per liter on milk to dairies for converting their excess milk into skimmed milk powder (SMP), for next three months. After the Government announcement the dairy farmers of Maharashtra have called off their four day old strike.

Dairy Development Minister of Maharashtra Mahadev Jankar told the state Legislative Assembly: “All dairies, both government and private, will have to pay a minimum price of Rs 25 per litre on milk procured from farmers. The government will provide Rs 5 per litre subsidy to all dairies”. “The decision will help farmers earn more. Now, dairies will have to pay Rs 25 per litre, which has become the base price,” he added.

Demanding higher procurement price for milk the dairy farmers of Maharashtra were on agitation under the banner of Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) Since Monday. As a part of their protest the farmers have blocked the supply of milk to big cities like Mumbai and Pune. Soon after the government announcement, dairy farmers of Maharashtra called off their agitation.

Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) leader and Member of Parliament Raju Shetti, after meeting with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at Ramgiri in Nagpur, told the media, “We welcome the decision and call off the strike. The state government has taken a good decision to give a subsidy of Rs 5 per liter for milk”. “We will keep a tab on whether farmers are actually getting that money,” he added.