New Milma rates take effect in Thiruvananthapuram

Consumers in the Thiruvananthapuram region will have to shell out Rs.36 per litre (an increase of Rs.4) for the Smart brand of double-toned milk.

The new rates announced by the Kerala Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (KCMMF) for the Milma brand of milk came into effect Monday.

As per the revised rates, the price per litre has gone up by Rs.3.

Consumers in the Thiruvananthapuram region will have to shell out Rs.36 per litre (an increase of Rs.4) for the Smart brand of double-toned milk available in yellow packets.

The 500-ml yellow packet now costs Rs.18, an increase of Rs.2 over the previous price.

The price of homogenised toned milk available in blue packets has gone up from Rs.35 to Rs.38 per litre while that of standardised high-fat milk in green covers increased from Rs.37 to Rs.40.

Reasons

Chairman, Thiruvananthapuram Regional Cooperative Milk Producers Union (TRCMPU) Kallada Ramesh said the price of the Smart brand had gone up by Rs.4 because the union had decided to do away with the discount of Re.1 offered for market promotion during the last hike in 2011. “The decision to round off the price was also dictated by the need to avoid the difficulties to dealers and customers in finding small change for the 500-ml yellow packet which has the highest demand,” he said.

Chairman, KCMMF, P.T. Gopala Kurup said the federation was planning to launch a new brand with 3.8 per cent fat and 8.7 per cent non-fat solids.

Named Rich Plus, the product would be available in the Thiruvananthapuram region at Rs.20.50 per 500 ml packet.

Another brand named Gold would be launched in the Kollam region. Priced at Rs.21.50 per 500 ml, it would have 3.8 per cent fat and 9.4 per cent non-fat solids.