Eastern dairy farmers' dues fall to around Rs 3 crore

The Biratnagar Milk Supply Scheme says the dues it owes to milk farmers in eastern Nepal have fallen to around Rs 3 crore.

According to the scheme, farmers' milk dues had at one point reached nearly Rs 35 crore.

The dues have come down as sales of milk and dairy products have gradually increased. The Biratnagar-based scheme pays farmers in installments every 15 days.

According to acting scheme chief Nabin Kishor Sharma, only the installments for the months of Shrawan and Bhadra, along with the current bill, remain to be paid. He said the scheme's sales had risen by about 50 percent.

He said the ghee stock currently stands at only around 5 metric tonnes.

The scheme says it is currently collecting around 10,500 liters of milk daily from eastern farmers, of which nearly 5,000 liters' worth of milk and dairy products are sold every day. According to the scheme, milk collection has been rising since Kartik.