Govt allows weighing of bulk milk in volume

New Delhi: In a major relief to farmers in dairy business, the government has decided to allow bulk weighing of the liquid in mass as it's been done in case of edible oils. The move is also aimed at making bulk transportation of milk from one destination to other a hassle-free practice, which is a little worrisome at present.

The Ministry of Consumers Affairs has written a letter to all the states and Union Territories to use non-automatic weighing instruments to weigh the mass of the milk that may be converted into volume automatically using the specific gravity of milk being transacted.

The Centre has also asked states to amend their enforcement rules to allow transaction of milk in the unit of mass mentioning the volume of the milk.

The change in law would make it possible to indicate the mass of the milk in kilogram on milk packets. Following the implementation of the order, the quality of milk would be displayed on packets in kg as well as a litre. The density of milk is about 1.03 kg/litre, while the density of edible oil is about 0.90kg/litre.

Hailing the decision, Ganesh Nanote, a farmer from Vidarbha region in Maharashtra, said, "The move would help milk farmers in weighing their produce at any major weighing scale. Farmers would get accurate weigh of the milk and accordingly get the right price."

Nanote further said that the decision would help in doubling the income of farmers.

The milk production in the country during 2016-17 has achieved a remarkable progress by showing 20.13 per cent growth as compared to 2013-14. Further, the production has been estimated to be increased by 6.4 per cent in 2016-17 over 2015-16. In past the growth rate has been 6.3 per cent in 2014-15; 6.3 per cent in 2015-16 and 6.4 per cent in 2016-17.