The sale of Aavin milk being marketed in sachets has gone up by about 10% since the reduction in price announced by the State government.
The Tiruchi District Milk Producers Cooperative Union caters to the three districts of Tiruchi, Perambalur and Ariyalur and procures milk from 650 societies affiliated to the union. While a portion of milk is earmarked to meet the requirements of consumers in these three districts, it also supplies milk to Chennai and to powder conversion units in Erode and Salem.
As per the price revision announced shortly after Chief Minister M. K. Stalin assumed office, the price of one litre of toned milk was reduced from ₹43 to ₹40 and that of a litre of standardised milk from ₹23.50 to ₹22. The price of half a litre of double toned milk was also brought down to ₹18.50 from ₹20.
Before the announcement of price reduction, the Tiruchi Aavin sold about 1 lakh to 1.10 lakh litres of milk in Tiruchi, Ariyalur and Perambalur daily. The figure has gone up to 1.20 lakh to 1.25 lakh litres now. The number of consumers who buy at the Aavin parlours and its outlets have also gone up marginally. Similarly, though many grocery shops sell the milk produced by the private dairies due to the high profit margin, many consumers preferred Aavin milk, union officials said.
“The average sale of milk has gone up by about 10,000 litres after the reduction in prices. We have increased the allotment for direct sales in our outlets marginally,” says N. Rasikala, General Manager, Aavin, Tiruchi.
She said that the sale of Aavin milk in Tiruchi alone had been hovering around 1.18 lakh litres, making it a clear market leader here. Aavin milk enjoyed the trust of the consumer, she added.
S. Pandian, Manager, Marketing, Aavin, Tiruchi, said that there had been sharp jump in average milk procurement too. Procurement had gone up to 5.30 lakh litres a day – a record for the union. The conducive climatic condition, availability of sufficient dry and green fodder and drinking water had been the main reasons for the sharp increase in procurement.
Of the total procurement of 5.30 lakh litres, 1.25 lakh litres is earmarked for sale in Tiruchi, Ariyalur and Perambalur districts. About 2 to 2.5 lakh litres is being sent to Chennai daily. About 75,000 litres is being used for producing ghee and milk-based by-products. The remaining milk is sent for milk powder conversion at the units in Salem and Erode, Ms. Rasikala said.
