Supply of ghee, butter hit in Vellore; slump in milk procurement blamed
The situation at the milk major’s own retail outlet in the Vellore Collector’s office is proof of how supplies have slumped.
VELLORE: Aavin’s Vellore dairy has not reportedly supplied butter to its franchisees for more than a year because of a slump in milk procurement.
A former Aavin GM said that only when procurement reaches 43 lakh litres per day, the co-operative would be able to make butter. “The state federation’s milk procurement has gone up from earlier 36 lakh litres to 39 lakh litres now,” he said.
The situation at the milk major’s own retail outlet in the Vellore Collector’s office is proof of how supplies have slumped.
“The delicious butter murukku produced in Chennai has also been stopped due to butter shortage. A popular product of Aavin, butter murukku is slowly losing its market,” pointed out the retired official.
Vellore’s leading agent VM Sankaran said that he was not getting butter from last January. “Now we are also facing a shortage of ghee for local sales,” he added.
Locals prefer Aavin butter and ghee as they are cheaper than other brands. An official lamented, “elected officials use the brand to feather their nests and hence will not kill it outright but will ensure that it is always limping and normalcy is never restored.”
Sources also pointed out that the Dairy Deputy Registrar (DDR), who has been tasked with increasing procurement, only occasionally pushes Aavin officials to take steps to improve procurement despite knowing that the milk major’s powers over individual societies are limited, unlike the DDR, who has total control over milk societies.
“Societies will kowtow to what the DDR says and not to what Aavin demands,” a source said.
Butter available at present is being sold by Chennai Aavin to private supermarkets, who indent in advance for the product resulting in Vellore Aavin retailers being forced to buy butter from them to fulfill local customers.
Vellore Aavin officials said that they procured 3 tonnes butter from Chennai which was converted to ghee for local sales and that 1.50 tonnes of butter was received on Tuesday toward the same end. Asked about the availability of butter, the official said “we have indented for 10 tonnes of butter which we expect to receive in about ten days after which it will be sold locally.”