the key feature of the packaging unit is its capacity to preserve milk and related products for up to three months without turning sour. karnataka and gujarat have such units. the ernakulam regional cooperative milk producers&rsquo union ltd. ernakulam milk union, milma, is keeping its fingers crossed about the fruition of its ambitious aseptic packaging unit even though the union government is yet to make a call on its request to fund the entire project cost as grant.the packaging unit has been proposed at the ernakulam milk union&rsquos dairy at tripunithura at an estimated cost of rs. 24 crore. it is part of the union&rsquos development projects worth rs. 75 crore aimed at enhancing the collective storage and processing capacity of its four dairy units, including the ones at kattapana, thrissur, and kottayam.the key feature of the packaging unit is its capacity to preserve milk and related products for up to three months without turning sour. selected states like karnataka and gujarat already have such units.&ldquoit is central to maintaining our competence in the market since we expect customers to restrict the frequency of purchases to perhaps once in a week. in such a scenario they cannot be expected to go out just for the sake of buying milk,&rdquo p.a. balan, chairman, ernakulam milk union and milma board member, told the hindu.the project, if it becomes a reality, would be able to cater to the demand of the milk unions in malabar and thiruvananthapuram as well.former agriculture minister sharad pawar had told the union that central assistance would have to be restricted to 75 per cent of the project cost under the existing schemes. he had promised to explore the possibility of funding it under some special schemes by which time lok sabha elections were declared.&ldquothe project entails longterm investment and is likely to turn breakeven only after five years. so it is not feasible for the union to raise rs. 6 crore for the project on our own,&rdquo said mr. balan.at present the four dairies of the ernakulam milk union has a combined capacity of around 3.50 lakh litres, which needs to be increased to 6.15 lakh litres. production in idukki and kottayam districts had increased of late, which has become a common trend whenever price for rubber falls, mr. balan said.source httpwww.thehindu.comnewscitieskochiernakulammilkunionwaitingforasepticpacka…
