Dairy entrepreneurs who faced a sharp drop in the sale of milk products during the period of restrictions to check the COVID-19 spread now experiencing a shortage of milk for sale.
The supply of milk products has fallen short of demand as the hotel, school, party palace, industrial organisations have started to resume operation.
The dairies had stocked skimmed milk powder (SMP), butter and cheese as sales of milk products dropped during the COVID-19 restriction period.
They were even worried as the stored milk products were piled up in storage, and they were trying to find an alternative market to sell the products.
Now, their store has not been only been empty but also they are facing a shortage of milk to meet the demand.
Though the government last year announced Nepal as self-sufficient in milk powder and butter, the shortage is being felt now.
Pralahad Dahal, secretary of the Nepal Dairy Association, said that the stores have been empty and there is a shortage of milk, butter, and SMP. He said that there is a demand for 40 to 42 lakh liters of milk a day but only 30 to 32 lakh liters of milk is available. So there is a shortage of a million liters of milk.
However, the Chief of the National Dairy Development Board, Rajandra Yadav, claimed that there is no shortage of milk in the market as hyped.
“It is good to see that the stored milk products are sold, and there is a balance between the demand and supply of milk at present. Moreover, the government is cautious for averting any such shortage,” he said.
There is a shortage of SMP and butter even in the government-owned Dairy Development Corporation (DDC). Right at this time, protest is launched at the DDC. Managing Director of the DDC, Rudra Prasad Paudel, said that the protest has not been affecting sales of milk products. He said that the amount of supply is comparatively low. He informed that there is 70 metric ton of butter at the DDC and the demand may rise in the festival season. He refuted the claim of private dairies saying there was no shortage of milk as such.
A member of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries and a dairy entrepreneur Sumit Kedia claimed that there is a shortage of milk and predicted that if the present trend continues, there will be a crisis after the festival season. He viewed the government should pay attention to the supply of milk.
Source : TRN,
