(Anova) - Milk companies nationwide pledged yesterday to purchase all fresh milk from dairy farmers hit by the melamine scandal.

The pledges were made in a forum discussing ways to reduce the impact of the crisis through milk collection measures.

The key goal now is purchasing all fresh milk, provided that its source is safe and of high quality, to keep farmers in business and ensure there will be enough suppliers of milk in the future, said Hoang Kim Giao, head of the Livestock Breeding Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Livestock Breeding Department required milk companies to collect an additional 5 to 10 per cent of the volume from breeding households who have never before supplied milk to these companies to reduce the financial burden on farmers.

According to Dao Duy Tam, director of the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, enterprises should set milk collection sites near households.

"The municipal authorities have decided to use the State budget to support farmers, but a specific plan must be developed for the future," added Tam.

"Our company is ready to buy all the milk, if its quality and safety meet the standards," said Phan Sy Minh, vice general director of the International Milk Company, "All households breeding dairy cows in Ba Vi District, who signed a contract with the company are now selling their milk, which is up 40 per cent compared to last month," he added.

Currently, there are 100,000 dairy cows nationwide, which produce about 700 tonnes of milk per day. Domestic consumers had largely stopped buying dairy products, and local supplies were thought to be unsafe which forced milk companies to reduce the volume of milk they purchased.

Sales down

Sales of milk and milk-based products have dropped 10-20 per cent in the past month, mainly on contamination fears, according to department stores in HCM City.

In the follow-up to the melamine scandal in China, the Ministry of Health has announced that 23 milk brands have been found to have contaminated products.

However, many consumers tend to assume that all milk products are contaminated with melamine and are reluctant to buy them, said an official of the Co.opMart supermarket.

Nguyen Thanh Huyen, an advertising company employee, says she has to switch her son's menu to cereal powder while waiting for the latest news about milk products.

Many pre-schools are also wary of using milk products as they are responsible for feeding their children healthy food.

Thuy Lan, Headmaster of An Phu Pre-school in District 2, says the school had just turned down an offer of die Ellac milk brand from Sai Gon Food Industrial Co despite sufficient certification of authenticity and non-contamination.

After the scandal that spilled over from China, only a few big brands like Vinamilk have seen their sales recovering in the past two weeks.

Most domestic milk companies are still waiting for test results on 40 per cent of their milk brand samples, and supermarkets have temporarily suspended purchase of those brands until all the final results are in.

Many stores are also suffering from an overstocking of milk products as few customers dare to buy them these days.

"Sales at my store have recently dropped by almost half," says Le Hoang Tien, owner of a milk store in Binh Thanh District.

Customers are patiently waiting for more declarations from the companies and other agencies until they can decide which milk brand is "safe and sound," Tien said.

Besides, as the consumers are boycotting dairy products, cow breeders are suffering great losses since prices for quality raw milk material has fallen rapidly from VND8,200 to VND7,300 per kilo, according to Vu Phuong Binh, director of Thanh Binh Livestock Breeding Co in Cu Chi District.

The Livestock Breeding Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has ordered all milk processors to purchase raw milk from breeders at reasonable prices and inform them about standard breeding practices to produce quality milk.

The department has also said that companies' production processes should meet food safety standards, and conduct regular tests to boost consumer confidence.

(Source: Viet Nam News)

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