Government to renew school milk tender

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

The Agriculture Ministry canceled a tender regarding delivery of free milk to 7.2 million school children at 32,526 schools as part of the “School Milk Project” on April 13.

The tender, which was carried out on April 12, was canceled due to the fact that bids had not been placed for all of the seven regions, the ministry said on its web site, adding that a new tender would be made soon. The free milk delivery to schools is a package program and milk should be delivered to all schools at the same time, according to the ministry.

Some five firms participated in the tender, including Dimes, Pınar, Yörükoğlu, a consortium consisting of Ak Gıda, Tat Konserve, Danone Tikveşli, Sütaş and Yörükler along with a second consortium consisting of Yavuz Blok Bims, Gülsan and Bakraç. Two firms, Pınar and Yörükoğlu, were dismissed from the tender as a lack of information about the firms was provided.

The competitors bid for only Aegean, Marmara and Central Anatolia regions. There were no bids placed for the East, Southeast and Mediterranean regions.

Meanwhile, the Turkey Milk Producers Central Union (TSÜMB) President Ali Koyuncu said the union was ready to deliver milk to the school children in the East, Southeast and Mediterranean regions.

He claimed the big industrialists in the milk sector were disrupting the school milk project and that it should be examined as to why the firms did not bid for those three regions. Milk producers unions in Mustafakemalpaşa, Amasya, Manisa, Mersin, Balıkesir, Uşak-Banaz, Bursa-İnegöl are organized under TSÜMB.