Hundreds of liters of carabao milk in Nueva Ecija spoiled due to low demand during ECQ

Hundreds of liters of carabao milk in Nueva Ecija were spoiled due to the low demand during the enhanced community quarantine.

According to Jonathan Andal's report for "24 Oras," the province is the biggest supplier of carabao milk in the country, producing around two million liters per year.

Michael Pascual, a dairy farmer, said he had to throw away 500 liters of milk as the economy stopped due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

"Ang problema sir maraming mall ang ipinasara tapos wala pang pasok. Ang pangunahin kasing nangangailangan din ng gatas ay pag may pasok 'yung estudyante at saka sa mall," he said.

Worse, the milk supply of his carabaos are drying up because they were not milked for a long period of time.

"Wala sir magagawa. Kaysa gatasan pa namin, sayang naman 'yung pagod namin," said Pascual.

Meanwhile, a cooperative in the municipality of Talavera said they also lost one ton of milk to spoilage.

They have machines to manufacture fresh milk, yoghurt, kesong puti, pastillas, and other products, but they did not have enough staff and their storage was already full.

The local government bought milk from the dairy farmers and organized feeding programs, but Pascual said it did not completely eliminate spoilage.

Talavera mayor Nerivi Martinez said they hope to have machines to manufacture powdered milk to avoid further wastage in the future.

"Kailangan-kailangan namin ng technology. Kasi nga pag fresh milk siya madali siyang masira," she said. 

For those who wish to order milk and other products to help the dairy farmers, you may contact:

09193049056
Virginia Ferrer
Talavera Municipal Agriculture Office

—MGP, GMA News