{"url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-18/dairy-development-corporation-fortnightly-payments","markdown_url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-18/dairy-development-corporation-fortnightly-payments.md","title":"Dairy Development Corporation to Pay Farmers Fortnightly From 2027","headline":"Nepal's State Dairy Development Corporation to Pay Farmers Every Fortnight From January 2027","description":"Dairy Development Corporation will pay farmers every fortnight from January 2027, following a Supreme Court order.","section":"Regulation & Approvals","published_at":"2026-10-18T02:06:10+00:00","modified_at":"2026-10-18T02:06:10+00:00","author":"News Desk","key_takeaways":["Dairy Development Corporation will switch from monthly to fortnightly payments to farmers in the first week of January 2027.","The corporation collects between 95,000 and 100,000 litres of milk daily and pays farmers around Rs65 per litre.","The DDC plans to open eight to 10 new outlets in Kathmandu Valley, where it currently runs 22 outlets."],"companies":[{"name":"Dairy Development Corporation","is_primary":true,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00pvy5h/dairy-development-corporation","website":"https://www.ddc.gov.np"}],"source":{"publisher":"EIN Presswire","title":"DDC to pay dairy farmers every fortnight from 2027","url":"https://www.einnews.com/article/950465272/live"},"other_sources":[],"tags":["Regulation & Approvals","Dairy Development Corporation"],"body_markdown":"Nepal's state-owned [Dairy Development Corporation](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00pvy5h/dairy-development-corporation) will pay dairy farmers every fortnight from the first week of January 2027, general manager Sharan Kumar Pandey said, moving away from monthly payments after a Supreme Court order. [EIN Presswire](https://www.einnews.com/article/950465272/live) carried the announcement on October 18, 2026.\n\n## Why the DDC Is Changing How Farmers Get Paid\n\nThe corporation collects between 95,000 and 100,000 litres of milk daily from farmers across the country and pays them around Rs65 per litre, processing the milk into pasteurised milk and other dairy products for domestic consumption. In August, the Supreme Court ordered the government to develop a system to ensure dairy farmers are paid regularly, in line with a tripartite agreement reached between the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, dairy entrepreneurs and farmers in June 2024.\n\nWhen the petition was filed in March 2024, dairy farmers were owed around Rs7 billion. Private dairy companies represented by the Dairy Industry Association and the Nepal Dairy Association owed around Rs6 billion of that total, while the state-owned corporation owed around Rs900 million. Delayed payments became particularly acute from December 2023, after the retail price of milk reached Rs100 per litre and the prices of other dairy products also increased. Both state-owned and private dairy companies said an economic slowdown had weakened demand, disrupting cash flow and increasing their liabilities to farmers as dairy products remained unsold for months.\n\nPandey said the corporation had cleared all its outstanding dues. \"While farmers are demanding the same, the court has also ordered us to settle payments on time,\" he said. The corporation plans to borrow funds to ensure regular payments, and to increase revenue by expanding sales. \"Kathmandu Valley consumes 60,000 to 65,000 litres of milk daily, and we are planning to increase the volume to 100,000 litres a day,\" Pandey said. Around 85 percent of the DDC's milk is sold in Kathmandu Valley, with the remainder distributed in other parts of the country.\n\n## The DDC's Scale and Product Mix\n\nDairy Development Corporation is the fully state-owned national dairy processor of Nepal, sourcing milk from more than 200,000 producers across 1,200 cooperatives in 45 districts and selling more than 20 branded dairy products to Nepali households, according to akta.pro [company records](https://akta.pro/company-data). The same records put annual milk collection volume at 60 million litres. The records also show the corporation shifted its production mix toward higher-margin value-added categories, with butter output growing approximately 275% and ghee growing approximately 57% over three fiscal years from 2079/80 to 2081/82, and introduced Probiotic Yogurt and Whole Milk into its portfolio in fiscal year 2081/82.\n\n## New Outlets and Export Plans\n\nTo increase sales, the corporation plans to open eight to 10 new outlets in Kathmandu Valley, where it currently operates 22 outlets. \"We plan to open the new outlets after Tihar,\" Pandey said. The corporation also plans to sell through dedicated online shopping platforms, relying on distributors rather than its own online sales operation. It aims to double sales of other dairy products including curd, paneer, ghee, ice cream and cheese. \"If we are selling 60 tonnes of cheese, we target 120 tonnes, which will help generate revenue and facilitate timely payment to farmers,\" Pandey said. In August, the corporation began exporting ghee to Dubai, sending an initial 600-kg shipment under an agreement with Rato ra Chandra-Surya International Pvt Ltd. Pandey said the corporation plans to send its products to Malaysia and Thailand, is in talks with South Korean traders and buyers in Tibet and China to export butter, and is discussing potential exports to Australia with several traders.\n","publisher":{"name":"News for Agent","url":"https://newsforagent.com"}}