& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Buyers step up hunt for liquid milk

Star Business Report
Sales of liquid milk and milk powder of local brands are on the rise with consumers looking for alternatives to foreign milk powder in the wake of a melamine scare, retailers said.
Many now flock to suppliers for 'fresh cow milk' and some others to retailers selling pasteurised and UHT (ultra high temperature) milk to avoid risks.
“I stopped buying milk powder after the melamine scare. Now I feed my son milk I purchase from cow-milk suppliers," said Nadera Sultana, who used to feed her five-year-old son Dano milk-powder.
Sultana, who lives in Mohammadpur, said she saw her neighbours buy cow milk from a milk supplier, and followed suit.
"I made a deal with a supplier for one litre of cow milk a day," she said.
Those who failed to make a deal with any supplier now prefer pasteurised and UHT milk of different brands such as Milk Vita, Aarong and Pran. Some are buying milk powder of local brands such as Kwality and Marks.
Sellers attributed the consumers' concentration on pasteurised and UHT to lack of availability and awareness about milk substitutes such as soymilk and others.
“Demand for pasteurised and UHT milk increased much over the last one week,” said Shams Haider, who leads the operations of Agora brand of chain retail-outlet Rahimafrooz Superstores.
Haider said he did not see much pressure for other kinds of milk.
Officials at Agora said its daily sales of pasteurised, mainly of Milk Vita and Aarong, surged 45 percent to 4,500 litres this week from 3,100 litres a week ago.
But the sales of milk powder face a slump, retailers and wholesalers said.
Sales of the milk powder of the brands not facing any allegation of melamine also dropped.
Kwality, Marks and some other foreign brands are now ruling the milk powder segment, the Agora officials said.
"We have increased milk supply due to rising demand," said Mohammad Ali, general manager of BRAC Dairy and Food Project.
Ali said BRAC Dairy supplied about 100.000 litres of milk a day against demand for 120,000 litres. It supplied about 80,000 litres a day earlier this month, he added.
Milk Vita General Manager Altaf Hoshain said demand for its pasteurised milk increased.