Dairy farmers disagree with milk price hike

Members of the Dairy Farmers’ Association disagree with the milk price hike that was introduced on June 1 by the Milk Central Paramaribo (MCP). The milk price hike was announced by MCP director Dew Sitaram. The chairman of the Dairy Farmers’ Association, Mukesh Ramlagan, pointed out that the dairy farmers were shocked by the milk price hike. For many years the association has been asking for transparency during the quality check. Ramlagan explained that transparency would be the right way to solve the issue. Farmers who deliver milk with a fat content of 3% receive a different price for their raw milk than farmers who deliver raw milk with a fat content of 4%. The dairy farmers deliver raw milk to the MCP so that it can be processed before being sold to retailers and consumers. The processed milk that ends up in local stores is pasteurized and contains a limited quantity of fat. Members of the association are willing to pay 1 cent per liter if they are told at once how much they will get for their milk. The dairy farmers currently deliver raw milk but they have to wait a whole week to be told how much they will be paid. The product is often rejected or they get a price for which no explanation or calculations are given. The association has also asked Agriculture, Stockbreeding and Fisheries Minister Soeresh Algoe to use the milk from the nation’s dairy farmers to produce cheese and butter.