Milma Milk Powder Factory opened at Murkanad in Malappuram

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan greeting the crowd at the inauguration of Milma Milk Powder Factory at Murkanad near Valancherry on Tuesday.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated Milma’s new milk powder factory at Murkanad near Valancherry on Tuesday. Set up at a cost of Rs 131.3 crore, the factory marks Milma’s latest milestone in the state.

Dairy Development Department has given 15 million rupees, while National Bank (NABARD) has provided 327 million rupees for agriculture and rural development. The rest of the expenses were borne by the Malabar Zone Union of Milma.

Built by Tetra Pak, a Swedish company known for processing milk powder, the Milma factory uses the latest technology to turn milk into powder. The factory can process 100,000 liters of milk and produce 10 tonnes of milk powder per day.

Milma president KS Mani said the factory could buy all the milk produced by Milma dairy farmers in the state.

On the occasion, MP ET Mohammad Bashir released Milma Milk Powder. Milma Dairy Whitener will soon be available in the market in 25 kg, 10 kg, 1 kg, 500 gm, 200 gm, 50 gm and 20 gm packets.

Milma officials said Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) monitors and controls the entire powder making process. Mr. Mani said that only the milk that meets the standards will be collected and turned into powder.

Milma no longer has to take the blame for refusing to buy more milk from farmers. Even though it was purchased in Milma, it had to rely on other states to turn the milk into powder.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that the government and MILMA are in a joint campaign to make milk production self-sufficient.

The Chief Minister called on Milma to increase value in the dairy sector. Nutritional food products are getting a lot of attention, and Milma should explore this possibility, he said.

Mr. Vijayan said that the procurement of milk has been hampered due to climate change. “This will be addressed by starting more chilling plants in the state,” he said. Dairy Development Minister J Chinchurani presided over the event. Manjalamkuzhi Ali, MLA, District Panchayat President MK Rafikha, Vice President Ismail Muthedam, District Collector VR Vinod, Kerala Dairy Farmers Welfare Fund Board President VP Unnikrishnan, and NABARD Chief General Manager Baiju N Kurup spoke.