Unsold products worry Ilam dairy entrepreneurs

By Kokila Dhakal,Ilam, Aug. 5: Dairy entrepreneurs in Ilam are worried that ghee and cheese produced in various dairies in the district have remained unsold.

They have said that there has been no demand for butter from the consumers since April, leaving their produce stocked in dairies.

More than 150 dairy industries are currently in operation in the district, and all are collecting milk from farmers and producing and exporting ghee, cheese and curd.

Most of the dairies have at least 200-300 kilograms of butter in stock at present, according to the Dairy Entrepreneurs’ Association in Suryodaya Municipality.

Jagat Mahat, chairman of the Association, said that ghee and cheese have remained unsold since April, 2023.

“Now we have not been able to sell ghee and cheese. We are facing another problem of storage because there is no cold store to store the products,” he said.

President Mahat said that butter can be kept for only four months in most cases. If there is no sale even during that period, they will be incurring a huge loss. 

Proprietor of Seto Pahad Dairy in Ilam Municipality Milan Khatri said that his dairy has about 4,000 kg of ghee in stock.

Khatri, who has been in the business of dairy dishes for about ten years, also said that there is no demand for ghee and cheese.

“There are many reasons behind the decline in demand. The first reason is lumpy skin diseases seen in animals. Another reason may be that after the government increased the price of milk, there was no demand from the consumers due to the increase in the price of ghee and fewer festivals.”

The demand for churpi, which is especially exported to abroad as dog chew, has also decreased.

The churpi has started to be produced in the form of dog food in various countries, including India, Germany and America, among others.

Khatri attributed the rising stock to the lower prices of dairy products in India compared to Nepal. 

Khatri said Churpi weighing 30,000 kg was exported in the last fiscal year.

The ghee goes to Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Dharan and other markets in Nepal.

Businessmen are selling ghee ranging from Rs. 750 to Rs. 850 per kg.

Before the government increased the price of milk in February, ghee used to be sold at a maximum of Rs. 650 per kg.

With the increase in the price of milk, businessmen are selling ghee by increasing the price by Rs. 150 to Rs. 200 per kg. Rup Bahadur Limbu, chief of the Animal Health Branch in Ilam Municipality, said that consumers may not like ghee because of the disease seen in animals.

“Because of lumpy skin disease, milk can also be boiled well and consumed. Now the case of lumpy infection has been declining in Ilam. Many animals were saved because of timely vaccination,” he said.

Limbu said that not only because of the disease, but also because of the rise in the price of milk, the businessmen also increased the price of ghee unnaturally.