Less than a year after the price of Nandini milk was hiked by ₹2 per litre, the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) is preparing to seek a hike of ₹5 per litre.
While the proposal of KMF for a hike of ₹5 per litre was not accepted by the previous BJP government, it had allowed a hike of ₹2 in November 2022. The hike had not satisfied farmers, who are reeling under increased input cost, as well as the district milk unions that had sought a higher hike since milk procurement had come down drastically. At ₹39 per litre, milk in Karnataka is among the cheapest in India.
Bhima Naik, Congress leader and a close associate of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who took over as KMF Chairman on June 21, has said that the federation is under pressure from unions and farmers to increase the price. KMF will present a proposal to the State Government. “In the coming days, KMF will provide more procurement cost than what is being offered by private dairies. Milk production had seen a dip after lumpy skin disease affected cattle, but production is improving.”
Cooperation Minister K.N. Rajanna also hinted at a hike in milk price, and said that the issue will be taken up for discussion after the State budget session. According to him, the daily procurement of milk in Karnataka by KMF is about 87 lakh litres, and the average procurement price offered to farmers is about ₹33 per litre.
The Minister said, “I am committed to protect the welfare of farmers. When consumers pay for water, why can’t they pay more for milk ? We are here to safeguard the interest of milk producers, and not consumers. We will transfer 90% of profit to farmers.”
While the cost of Nandini milk is less than the price of milk sold by private dairies, the cost of feed and fodder had gone up, he added.
Animal Husbandry Minister K. Venkatesh said that the milk price hike would be decided after consultations with the government.
Bengaluru Milk Union president Narasimha Murthy, who has been vocal about increasing the retail cost of milk for the past two years, said that the previous hike of ₹2 per litre by the BJP government had not helped farmers since milk procurement had not gone up substantially. “Bamul collected 19 lakh litres in peak of flush season in 2022. The procurement in 2023, that had touched 16 lakh litres a day, had dropped down to 15.75 lakh litres as on June 22. Farmers are not coming forward to increase production.”
