20,000 liters of milk purchased from Tarai

The Hetauda Milk Distribution Project is currently collecting about 20,000 liters of milk from Tarai districts.

According to the project, out of the collected milk, 12,000 liters is sent to Biratnagar for producing powder milk and 6,000 liters to Hetauda Milk Development Board. The project has been selling 4,000 liters of milk daily to local consumers in Birgunj of Parsa, Bharatpur and Narayangadh of Chitwan and Hetauda of Makwanpur.

According to the project, milk is procured from 200 milk producer cooperatives in Sarlahi, Rautahat, Bara, Parsa of Madhes province, and Bagmati in Makwanpur. Although the farmers of the Tarai district are now producing more than 200,000 liters of milk daily the demand of local consumers in Birgunj, Narayangadh and Hetauda markets has not increased, said Rajiv Khanal, head of the project.

As a result, the project will be deploying a technical team to discuss with public representatives of Birgunj, Bharatpur and Hetauda and local consumers to increase the demand for more milk in those cities.

To consume more milk, the project is currently producing 700 liters of curd, 900 kg of ghee, 400 kg of paneer and 500 kg of butter. It has also been making various kinds of sweets.

Information officer of the project, Krishna Bahadur Shrestha, said that since the demand for milk in the local market is less the purchase of milk has been reduced by 2000 liters daily.

The project, which is fully owned by the Government of Nepal, employs 150 people.