SALEM: Ahead of Pongal, Salem Aavin has significantly stepped up the production of festive essentials such as ghee and sweets to meet the seasonal demand, with officials stating that production has been increased to around 5.5 tonnes across various product categories.

While the normal requirement of ghee and sweets during regular days is around 80 kg per month, demand rises sharply during the Pongal season, prompting advance planning and bulk procurement, officials said.

Salem Aavin currently procures about 6.5 lakh litres of milk every day from nearly 2.25 lakh farmers through 787 primary milk cooperative societies. Of this, around 3.5 lakh litres are dispatched as raw milk to other cities, 2.5 lakh litres are utilised to meet Salem's local demand, and the remaining 50,000 litres are converted into value-added products such as milk powder, butter, ghee, curd, buttermilk, paneer, khova and milkshakes. These products are packed in tetra packs with a shelf life of up to six months.

Officials said that to manage Pongal-related orders efficiently, five dedicated Aavin teams were deployed across regions to collect advance requirements and ensure timely supply.

As part of this exercise, 525 orders were received in Salem, 549 in Attur, 600 in Mettur, 637 in Vazhapadi, and 259 in Edappadi, taking the total number of orders to 2,570.

This year, Salem Aavin fulfilled orders for 1,169.35 kg of ghee, 1,285 kg of special sweets, and 514 kg of badam sweets for public distribution during the festival period. In addition, Aavin supplied 227.95 kg of ghee, 105.5 kg of special sweets, and 42.2 kg of badam sweets for gifting purposes to retired staff members, taking the overall festive supply to nearly 3,344 kg of ghee, special sweets and badam sweets combined, officials said.

Total supplies, including public distribution as well as for the retired staff, Salem Aavin supplied about 3,344 kg of festive products during Pongal, equivalent to nearly 3.34 tonnes, officials said.

Aavin officials added that on non-festive days, weekly requirements remain modest at around 20 kg, but special orders are placed well in advance during festive seasons to ensure uninterrupted supply.