By IANS
Thrissur (Kerala) : Milk may become costlier by up to Rs.3 a litre in Kerala as the Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (Milma) Thursday proposed a hike to encourage dairy farming in the milk-starved state.
Kerala is facing around 300,000-litre shortage daily and securing milk supplies from neighbouring Karnataka to meet the demand. However, Karnataka Milk Federation informed Milma a few days back that it might not be in a position to continue the supplies as Karnataka too is facing shortage.
If the state government accepts Milma proposal, a litre of milk will cost around Rs.20. Milk price was hiked twice in the last two years but production has not kept pace with the demand.
“We have proposed (to the state government) a hike of Rs.3 per litre,” T.P. Marcos, Milma board director told IANS.
“Out of this, Rs.2.25 will go to dairy farmers. We have to arrive at a consensus with the government on the price hike,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Food and Civil Supplies Minister C. Divakaran said the situation called for an increase in milk price.
“Let Milma come with a proposal. We will examine and decide. However, the hike in price will not solve the milk scarcity,” Divakaran told reporters at Kochi.