Erode: The Tamil Nadu government is actively reviewing a proposal to increase the milk procurement price, State Minister for Milk and Dairy Development Mano Thangaraj announced during a press briefing in Erode on Saturday. The move is expected to provide significant relief to dairy farmers and further strengthen the state’s dairy sector.
“We are consulting with the Chief Minister to finalize another hike in milk procurement prices to better support farmers,”
– Mano Thangaraj, Minister for Milk and Dairy Development
Thangaraj highlighted that under the current DMK regime, the milk procurement price has already been increased by ₹3 per litre, along with incentives of ₹3 per litre and ₹1 per litre for quality milk.
Tamil Nadu currently procures approximately 36 lakh litres of milk daily. The government is working towards increasing this volume to 45 lakh litres per day, with Aavin—one of the largest dairy cooperatives in the state—playing a pivotal role in boosting procurement and sales.
“The quality-based pricing scheme has received a tremendous response from farmers, and we are focusing on improving procurement, processing, and marketing structures at Aavin,”
– Thangaraj
The Minister also noted that 472 cooperative societies operate in Erode district, of which 72 societies have been allowed to directly purchase and sell dairy products. In the past year, dairy products worth ₹98 lakh have been sold through these societies.
“We are implementing strategies to turn 56 loss-making cooperative societies in Erode profitable,”
– Thangaraj
As part of financial support initiatives, interest-free loans worth ₹88 crore were disbursed to farmers last year in Erode district, with an additional ₹10 crore in loans being facilitated through other banks.
Addressing concerns about milk adulteration, Thangaraj firmly stated:
“Aavin milk is completely free from adulteration. A dedicated vigilance team is constantly monitoring quality and farmer operations. Rumours and circulating audio clips alleging adulteration are baseless,”
– Thangaraj
The minister also confirmed that the Aavin management is enhancing milk-handling capacities and increasing the reach of its sales teams to strengthen consumer trust and market penetration.
Housing and Urban Development Minister S Muthusamy, Erode Collector S Kandasamy, and local MLAs also attended the review meeting.
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