BENGALURU: Members of the Karnataka Milk Producers Association on Friday submitted a memorandum and held a meeting with Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) officials seeking a hike in milk prices by Rs 8 per litre with immediate effect.
Association President P Nagaraj said, due to severe drought this year, there has been a drastic reduction in the availability of fodder, which has directly affected the milk procurement.
Three months back, KMF procured 1.11crore litres of milk a day; this has now reduced to 1.03 crore litres a day. The quality of milk and the total solid fat content in the milk have also started to reduce, impacting the milk and curd quality.
They said they have given the KMF and the state government three days’ time to take a decision, failing which they will stage a state-wide protest on September 22.
He said the last milk price hike was done in April 2025. But since then, there has been a 40% hike in milk packaging cost. It costs around 70 paise to package each milk packet.
The processing cost has also increased. The rate of conversion of milk into powder and other items has also reduced, he said, adding that there was a pressing need to hike the rate.
Comparing the cost of a litre of Nandini milk in Karnataka to that of other states, Nagaraj said, it was the lowest. He said a litre of milk in Delhi is Rs 62, in Maharashtra Rs 59 and Rs 62 in Rajasthan.
Reacting to this, an official from KMF, not wanting to be named, said, “The demand to hike the milk prices has been a long-pending demand. Drought has made things difficult. The management will take a decision, but the final approval needs to be given by the state government. Hiking by Rs 8 could be a challenge, but a hike is required.”
