Team Herald
PONDA: Goa Dairy’s cattle feed manufacturing plant at Usgao, for the first time since its inception, made a profit of Rs 7 lakh in October this year. For six years in succession before the last financial, the plant was suffering a loss of Rs 1.5 crore every year and in the last financial year alone it suffered a loss of Rs 5 crore.
During the general body meeting held this September, it was noticed that the Goa Dairy’s cattle feed unit had suffered an overall loss of Rs 5 crore in the last financial year. Thus a seven-member inquiry committee was appointed to inquire into the reasons for the loss. After a through enquiry, the committed submitted its report with recommendations.
Addressing the media, Goa Dairy Chairman Madhav Sahkari said that the committee recommended hiking price of feed supplied to the farmers by Rs 3-4 and purchasing raw material at a lower price. These recommendations were accepted and accordingly, the price of the cattle feed was hiked by Rs 2 and the raw material was purchased at a cheaper price by negotiating with the companies that supplied them. By implementing these recommendations, the Goa Dairy turned the loss making cattle feed plant into a profit making one, Sahkari said.
He said that with this, the Goa Dairy was confident of not only keeping prices of milk stable but also providing the cattle feed to the farmers at reasonable rates.
Now, the Goa Dairy has set a target of earning Rs 15 lakh per month in the following months from cattle feed plant and hopes to recover the losses in the next couple of years. The Goa Dairy cattle feed was suffering losses on account of subsidies on the feed by Rs 3-4; thus, the net price of the cattle feed was less than the manufacturing cost.
Moreover, the Goa Dairy has now started buying raw material from the lowest bidders which has helped in making the plant profitable.
However, Durgesh Shirodkar, a dairy farmer, does not see this as profit as it has come “at the cost of the farmers.” There are five types of cattle feed produced at the Goa Dairy plant and the prices of two verities have been increased as they are in a big demand among farmers.
