KATHMANDU, August 19: Dairy farmers who sell milk to Dairy Development Cooperation (DDC) will get Rs 4.14 per liter from the hiked price of milk, while the dairy industries will get only Rs 1.86.
DDC had hiked the price of milk by Rs 6 per liter, effective from Thursday.
“Farmers had been demanding price hike, claiming that the production cost had been very high,” said Ishwori Prasad Adhikari, deputy general manager at DDC, adding: “Farmers will get 69 percent while the industries will get 31 percent of the adjusted price.” He said both the industries and the farmers had been complaining of increased processing costs due to hike in the costs of electricity and other materials used in the industries.
Babu Kaji Panta, executive director of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) said: “Dairy farmers have started to abandon their occupation due to losses, as they don’t get return of investment. They can’t even get the costs of fodder, labor, and medical expenses for the cattle.”
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The Ministry of Agricultural Development decided to hike milk price based on a study report submitted by a committee formed to study the situation of dairy costing. The decision of price hike favors the farmers, who had been selling milk for the same price since the last three years.
“Farmers complained that their business was going down because of a constant price for three years, while the prices of materials used in the farming had gone up,” Panta told Republica.
According to Adhikari, farmers used to get Rs 45 to 46 per liter of milk before the price hike. “But now they will get Rs 50 per liter and on top of that if the milk is of high quality, they can get as much as Rs 60 per liter,” He said, adding: “Both the farmers and the industries had been complaining and urging the DDC for price hike.”
DDC, which owns 40 percent share of the country’s dairy industry, had last hiked milk price in 2014 by Rs 8 to 10.
