Milk dealers have urged Aavin to fix uniform maximum retail prices (MRP) for milk sold across the State. In a statement, the Tamil Nadu Milk Dealers and Employees Welfare Association said the MRP of Aavin milk varied in the districts according to what was fixed by the respective cooperative unions.

S.A. Ponnusamy, president of the Association, said this caused problems for dealers and retailers when new customers came in.

“Private brands have uniform rates. Aavin, too, should follow this system if it wants to compete in the market,” he said. The difference in prices lead to a difference in commission to dealers.

“The distribution channels also vary from place to place. This leads to a dealer getting between 1% and 5% commission. This should be made uniform so that the benefit can be passed on to the customers,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Milk Producers Welfare Association had also recently sought the creation of a board for fixing uniform prices for loose milk. Association secretary M.G. Rajendran said over 1.5 crore litres of milk was being sold daily via informal channels, and producers get very less revenues for the milk since there was no minimum support price.

“We need the government to fix a price so that private milk buyers will stick to that rate. At present, milk producers in many places stand to lose money due to this,” he said.