Milk bars on the cards in Haryana

The Haryana Dairy Development Co-operative Federation has finalised a multi-pronged strategy to diversify its products, increase production, boost marketing, and create a long-term bond with milk suppliers.

The federation will open milk bars, introduce products like ice-creams, sweetened flavoured milk, lassi, and milk in tetrapacks, and make an attempt to market its products in other states too.

"The milk bars will be opened in the areas developed by the Haryana Urban Development Authority(Huda), mini secretariat, police complex, bus stands and railway stations in the state," said Devender Singh, managing director of the federation.

The federation markets milk and milk products under the brand name Vita.

The federation is also in the process of introducing items other than milk products. "The demand for packed milk, which is pasteurised, and other milk products is increasing. So the federation will focus on this product," Singh said.

To boost dairy farming to increase milk production, the federation plans to set up 60 new dairy farms with the financial assistance of banks. It hopes procure over 20,000 litres of milk a day through these dairy farms.

To strengthen marketing of milk, the federation will add as many as 120 milk booths during current year to the existing 2,000 and all Vita products will be made available at all retail points.

The federation had made a representation to the Chandigarh administration to get booths for sale of Vita products on the pattern of Verka of Punjab, he said.

According to Singh, the federation will issue "white credit cards" to those who supplied milk in the lean season. "Each cardholder can avail of Rs 50,000 loan from bank at a rate of 8.75 per cent for the purchase of milch animals without any collateral security," Singh said.

The scheme might have to be implemented through a consortium of banks because the number of beneficiaries would be quite large, the federation managing director said.

Remarking that Vita accounted for over 70 per cent of the market in Haryana, he said the federation would take Vita products to neighbouring states in tetrapacks.

In the current financial year, the federation targets to raise milk procurement to 400,000 kilogram a day from 365,000 kg a day during 2004-05.