The decision compelled some 450 dairy firms across the country, including the state-owned Dairy Development Corporation, to largely rely on powder milk to maintain their supplies. According to the dairy firms, the farmers´ protest would not impact supplies for next couple of days.
"But if the situation continued, consumers across the country could face a severe problem," said Ram Kumar Khadka, president of Private Dairies Association. Some 350,000 dairy farmers across the country supply half a million liters of milk every day and some 80 percent of their supplies is consumed in the Kathmandu Valley alone.
Irate farmers have vowed to intensify their protest and announced that they would block highways to further disturb operations of dairy firms.
The government panel that studied the cost of milk production had, last month, recommended the government to increase milk price by Rs 4 per liter. Based on its suggestion, Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operative (MoAC) had instructed DDC to raise the price and also directed the Dairy Development Board (DDB) -- the dairy regulator -- to implement the decision.
However, as dairies are free to fix the prices on their own, they chose to increase the retail prices only by Rs 2 per liter.
"This raise is insufficient, as it increases income of farmers by mere two paisa to Rs 1.26 per liter (depending on the quality)," said Dhaka Ram Aryal, chairman of Central Dairy Cooperatives, adding that the hike does not give any relief to farmers facing steep hike in the prices of inputs. "Hence, we have no option, but to further intensify our protest to get our demands fulfilled," he said.
Farmers have been maintaining that the cost of milk production has increased to Rs 30 per liter largely due to rising prices of inputs, including the prices of cows, buffaloes, feed, medicines and nutrients, among others.
If the dairies bowed down to the farmers´ demands, the farmers will get a raise of much as Rs 2.76 per liter of milk. This, they said, will cover their cost.
As a part of their protest, dairy farmers have been obstructing highways for a few hours every day and taking milk tankers of DDC and private dairies under their control. They took three tankers of DDC under their control on Saturday. Farmers in major milk producing districts, including Chitwan, Dhading, Kavre and Bhaktapur, spilled milk on the roads.
Aryal said farmers are also blocking all major highways of the country for two and three hours a day on Sunday and Monday respectively.
Meanwhile, representatives of three trade unions of DDC and dairy farmers held discussion to seek ways for resolving the price row between farmers and dairy firms on Saturday. The talks, however, ended inconclusively.
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