If you went to buy milk this morning, you must have shelled out more for it. Starting today, the cost of milk from leading suppliers such as Amul and Mother Dairy has been raised by Rs 2 per litre.
The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which sells milk and milk products under the brand name ‘Amul’ had in a statement said that they had decided to increase the milk prices by Rs 2 per litre in markets of Ahmedabad and Saurashtra of Gujarat, Delhi-NCR, West Bengal, Mumbai and all other markets where Amul is marketing its fresh milk effective from 17 August 2022.
Mother Dairy also announced to hike milk prices in Delhi-NCR from Wednesday. “Mother Dairy is compelled to raise its liquid milk prices by Rs 2/litre with effect from 17 August 2022. The new prices will be applicable for all milk variants," the popular milk supplier mentioned. However, the retail milk prices of the dairy giant remained unchanged in other parts of the country.
We examine the causes for the rise in milk prices and also which parts of the country now provide milk at the cheapest.
Prices of milk
On Tuesday, Amul announced that they had decided to increase the retail price of fresh milk across the country by Rs 2/litre, and the hike would be effective from 17 August.
With the price hike in place, the cost of double toned milk, such as Amul Taaza, is now priced at Rs Rs 44-46/litre as against the earlier rate of Rs 42-44/litre. Similarly, full cream milk sold under the name of Amul Gold will now cost Rs 62/litre, as against Rs 60/litre. Amul Shakti, which sold for Rs 54 a litre previously will now be sold for Rs 56.
Mother Dairy also had announced on Tuesday that it was ‘compelled’ to increase prices of their milk by Rs 2 per litre in Delhi-NCR with effect from 17 August to factor in the rise in procurement and other input costs.
Mother Dairy’s full cream milk will now cost Rs 61 per litre. Its toned milk price will jump to Rs 51 per litre and its double toned milk price will increase to Rs 45 per litre. Cow milk price has been hiked to Rs 53 per litre. Bulk vended milk (token milk) price will increase to Rs 48 per litre.
Reasons for price rise
In its statement on Tuesday, Amul said that the hike will translate into a four per cent increase in MRP which is lower than the average food inflation.
It said, “This price hike is being done due to increase in overall cost of operation and production of milk. The cattle feeding cost alone has increased to approximate 20 per cent compare to last year. Considering the rise in input costs, our member unions have also increased farmers’ price in the range of 8-9 per cent over previous year,” the release said.
Incidentally, this is the second price hike by Amul and Mother Dairy in the past six months. Both companies had increased milk prices back in March by Rs 2.
There are multiple factors attributing to the rise in milk prices. One of the main reasons is the reduction in milk collection itself. Dashrath Mane, chairman and managing director of the Indapur-based Sonai Dairy pointed out that dairy collection today stands at 20 lakh litres of milk per day. However, last August, the daily milk collection was 23 lakh litres. “This shortfall is the main reason why we have raised our prices,” he was quoted as telling Indian Express.
He added that all dairies across the country are reporting a decline in daily milk collection, which in turn has forced them to increase prices.
Heavy rain is also another factor contributing to the hike in milk prices. The continuous heavy downpour has resulted in a lesser yield of green fodder.
The rain has also given rise to the spread of various diseases. Rajasthan, Gujarat and Punjab have seen an outbreak of lumpy skin disease. According to multiple reports, nearly 3,000 cattle have died in Rajasthan and Gujarat due to the disease.
The dairy unions in Saurashtra and Kutch have reported a 15-20 per cent reduction in daily milk collection.
There is also a rise in transportation costs. All in all, these factors have together contributed to the prices of milk rising.
In fact, dairy farmers have said that the price of milk will continue to see bumps until October when the flush season begins. The flush season is when animals naturally lactate more, thanks to the easy availability of green fodder and water.
So, where’s milk cheapest?
People in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi and even West Bengal will have to shell out more for milk. However, that’s not the case for people in Hyderabad or even Bengaluru.
In fact, people in Bengaluru get Nandini milk, the brand of Karnataka Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation, for just Rs 38 and Rs 46 for toned and full-cream milk respectively.
With inputs from agencies
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