There has been a huge decline in milk supply to the Fiji Dairy Limited by the members of the Northland Farmers Corporative in Tailevu.
Chair, Hirday Lakhan, says the industry used to supply up to twelve million litres annually, but this has dropped to around eight million litres.
Lakhan says the recent outbreak of Bovine Tuberculosis and Brucellosis has been one of the major contributing factors to this decline.
The Corporative members are requesting for a decrease in the price of cattle feed and the farm gate price for milk.
Meanwhile the Fiji Cooperative Dairy Company Limited chief executive, Sachida Nand, says the issue has been raised at the national level.
“In June and July this year we did get a five cents increment in the raw milk price but that still has a deficit in terms of the cost of production. We are still negotiating and hopefully will make up some good improvements in terms of the prices. Once the price is right in terms of milk production and farmers can cover their cost, they will start investing because they know they’ll ultimately make money.”
Northland Farmers’ Cooperative members supply their milk direct to the factory while other small holder suppliers supply their raw milk through the FCDCL.
