Vadodara/Anand: The agitation of dairy farmers in Maharashtra, which began at midnight on Sunday, has affected milk procurement by Amul in the neighbouring state.The Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) which markets dairy products under the brand “Amul” had trouble with procurement on Monday, even as protests to press for higher prices by the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana and Maharashtra Kisan Sabha took a violent turn.“There has been an effect on procurement in pockets of the state,” said R S Sodhi, managing director of GCMMF, the apex body of district dairy unions in the state. Sources suggest many farmers did not turn up to supply milk at village-level milk societies on Monday, which could affect the supply of milk to consumers in cities of the state on Wednesday.“We dispatched milk to all major markets on Sunday night for Monday and we enough stock for Tuesday as well. However, we cannot predict what the situation will be on Wednesday,” he said.The member unions of GCMMF, including Amul Dairy, Valsad Dairy and Panchamrut Dairy, run around eight plants in Maharashtra including those at Virar, Boisar, Pune and Nagpur.Amul is the single largest milk supplier in Maharashtra and sells around 21 lakh litres per day (LLPD) in major cities like Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur.Sodhi, however, said that the problems farmers are facing are genuine. “Dairy farmers not only in Maharashtra but also in Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh are facing problems due to low commodity prices,” he said.He stressed that domestic milk prices can improve provided the government of India (GOI) make any agency procure buffer stock one lakh metric tonnes of skimmed milk powder (SMP).

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