State dairies unable to plug raw material crunch

The dairies say that as raw materials do not fall under essential commodities, they have to depend on suppliers who have shut down operations because of the lockdown

PUNE: Shortage of raw materials because of national lockdown has hit major diary operators despite the white goods falling under the essentials.

People queue for milk at Katraj dairy in Pune,. (Ravindra Joshi/HT PHOTO)

Cooperative unions like Kolhapur district cooperative milk producers union (Gokul brand), Pune district cooperative milk producers union (Katraj brand), and private dairy Indapur milk and milk products limited (Sonai brand) are left with limited stock of raw material needed for milk packaging, running and cleaning the plants.

The dairies say that as raw materials do not fall under essential commodities, they have to depend on suppliers who have shut down operations because of the lockdown.

Vivek Kshirsagar, Katraj Dairy’s managing director, said, “Dairy industry requires polythene liner for packaging and chemicals to clean the plants.”

Dattatray Ghanekar, Gokul dairy’s managing director, said, “Vendors are unable to provide raw materials because of restrictions on movement of goods. We are also facing cross-border transport issues as our plant is located in Kolhapur and our business covers Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka. Villagers are even stopping our milk collection vehicles claiming that it is being used for passengers travel.”

Sonai Milk’s director Dashrath Mane said, “The issues faced by dairies due to lockdown need to be addressed by the government. We are ready to supply milk as farmers have to milk their cattle every day and they give it to dairies. The issue we face is manpower shortage to run the plants.”

Narendra Poyam, Maharashtra milk commissioner, said, “The government is taking steps to ensure that dairies do not fall short of raw materials to run their business.”