Bangladesh Dairy Farmers Association (BDFA) yesterday said about 120-150 lakh liters of milk remain unsold daily due to cornavirus outbreak in the country.

 On average dairy farmers are losing Tk 57 crore a day which amounts to Tk 1,710 crore per month, BDFA president Imran Hossain said at a press briefing.

“People stop taking milk in their households because of cocornavirus scare. The sweet shops are closed; hence we can’t sell milk there. The dairy farmers are stuck with huge amount of unsold milk,” said Imran.

“If urgent steps are not taken, then these farmers, scattered across the country, will lose their businesses and their means of income,” he added.

BDFA official informed that each of the top three large milk processing companies of the country have the capacity to collect 3 lakh liters of milk daily.

Besides, at least twelve other companies are there who have the capacity to buy milks for making butter, ice-cream, flavored milk and other products.

“We are urgently urging those companies to keep continuing buying milk from the small and medium sized farmers. Otherwise, those farmers will be forced to shut down their farms,” he said.

Imran warned that if immediate measures are not taken to protect the dairy farmers, then there might be a crisis of milk and milk products in near future.

“Especially the month of Ramadan is coming ahead. Though the whole country is reeling with coronavirus scare, we need to think about protecting our local industry,” Imran said.