The Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Producers Federation Limited, which markets milk under the Aavin brand, has faced a tough time due to dwindling milk procurement.

The federation that gets milk from district-level cooperative milk producers union, on an average procures 38 lakh litres a day. It reaches its peak in December and January. The procurement, according to official sources, came down to 32 lakh litres a day in February. And subsequently, it fell to 28 lakh litres, forcing the federation to trim its supply to the agents for daily sales. As against the 16 lakh litres of requirement of milk in Chennai, the federation markets only 14 lakh litres of milk.

Sources said the supply of milk from the district-level unions continued to go down. The Tiruchi District Co-operative Milk Producers Union, until the creation of a new union with jurisdiction over Perambalur and Ariyalur districts, sent more than 3 lakh litres of milk to Chennai alone. It had come down to about 2.5 lakh litres to 2.70 lakh litres. Of them, the share of Perambalur and Ariyalur stood at about 2.5 lakh litres.

“The daily milk procurement causes concern. We struggle to procure milk from farmers. It becomes a challenge for us. The prevailing dry weather and hot condition is the main reason. Many farmers have switched to private dairies as they offer better prices,” an officer of Aavin told The Hindu.

While Aavin offers ₹38 a litre of high quality milk, industry sources say private players offer ₹43 a litre. Moreover, the private players accept milk without following quality yardsticks. Hence, farmers tend to sell milk to private dairies rather than to Aavin.

There was no sign of improvement in the situation as waterbodies in Tiruchi, Ariyalur and Perambalur districts remained dry for more than five months since March. Farmers found it difficult to water the milch cows. The sweltering heat and drought, triggered by the El Nino effect, had taken a toll on the health of cattle, the official added.

Published - August 18, 2026 07:30 pm IST