Hanoi  - A plunge in local milk consumption due to fears of melamine-tainted Chinese milk threatens to drive Vietnamese farmers out of the dairy business even though their milk is safe and clean, local officials and farmers said Monday.

"I will have to sell my cows if things do not change in a few weeks," said Nguyen Thi Hanh, a dairy farmer in the Hanoi suburb of Gia Lam.

Local media report dairy factories have ceased buying milk from farmers because they are unable to sell it.

"We can only buy 50 per cent of the fresh milk supplied by dairy farmers, because we cannot sell our milk," said Hoang Duc Cuong, a factory director at the dairy company Hanoimilk. "Our factory is operating at between 15 and 20 per cent of its design capacity."

Two kinds of Hanoimilk milk have tested positive for melamine due to the use of Chinese-supplied milk powder, and have been taken off the market.

Hanh said he had been using his cows' unsold milk to feed his cats, dogs, buffalo, and even the cows themselves. "But my animals are not used to drinking milk, so they get diarrhea now."

Many farmers, like Hanh, are using their cows' milk to feed their livestock. Others are simply pouring the milk out on the roads.

"I have tried my best to contact milk factories, but no one agreed to buy our milk, so I had to pour tons of it away," said Hoang Trong Thuyen, chairman of the Phu Dong dairy cooperative, once the main milk supplier for Hanoi's dairy factories. "I will have to throw away five more tons tomorrow because the milk has become rotten. Five tons of fresh milk costs me at least 2,000 dollars."

Thuyen said the Moc Chau dairy plant, 350 kilometers north of Hanoi, promised to buy milk from farmers in his area, but the milk would go bad because it is too far away.

Milk containing melamine has been blamed for killing four babies and sickening more than 54,000 with kidney stones and other illnesses in China. The contamination has sparked global concerns about food products made with Chinese milk or milk powder and recalls in several countries of Chinese-made products.

Vietnam's Ministry of Health has responded by forming 15 inspection teams to test dairy products throughout the country. So far, tests have found melamine in 23 dairy products and crackers imported from China, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Melamine was also found in two kinds of milk marketed by Hanoimilk, the third biggest milk company in Vietnam, leading the government to order recalls.

Some husbandry experts blame local media for failing to inform Vietnamese consumers that local dairy farmers, unlike those in China, have not been found using melamine, and that most Vietnamese milk is safe to drink.

"Our dairy farmers only raise their cows on traditional feed. No melamine has been found in their fresh milk, but they have been badly affected by local media reports," said Professor Nguyen Van Thien, chairman of Vietnam's National Animal Husbandry Association. "Consumers should keep calm and make good decisions."

"Some of the information published is very vague, making people scared to drink milk, even fresh milk," said Le Hong Man, ex-director of Vietnam's national animal husbandry company.

Government officials said they have been pushing reporters to tell the public local milk is safe.

"We have directed local media to transmit clear and accurate information relating to the melamine scandal, to prevent consumers boycotting milk without melamine," said Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Do Quy Doan. "But some reporters have not fully understood that."

Thuyen's daughter Hoang Hi Nhi, also a dairy farmer, is luckier than her father. For the time being, the Vinamilk company is buying her milk, but she is not sure about her future.

"The milk companies tell me they are not sure how long they can keep buying my milk," said Nhi. "I am very worried now, because I don't know what will happen to my business." (dpa)