COIMBATORE: Private milk vendors who supply milk door-to-door in cans have raised prices by Rs 6 to Rs 10 per litre in Coimbatore following the state government's recent decision to increase Aavin's procurement rate by Rs 3 per litre.
Local consumers are now paying between Rs 66 and Rs 70 per litre for the same milk that was earlier sold at around Rs 60.
Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay announced the hike in Aavin’s milk procurement price during the discussion on demands for grants on August 19. The additional Rs 3 comprises Rs 2 as a state government incentive and Rs 1 routed through the Aavin cooperative societies. With the revision, milk producers supplying to Aavin will receive between Rs 33 and Rs 43 per litre depending on the fat content, plus the new Rs 3 incentive. The amount will be credited directly to the producers' bank accounts by the 10th of every month.
The previous government had already been providing an incentive of Rs 3 per litre. The fresh increase is intended to encourage more farmers to pour milk into Aavin societies. However, many producers continue to prefer private dairy firms, which currently offer Rs 38 to Rs 48 per litre.
At Aavin milk societies, unpackaged milk is sold to customers at Rs 48 per litre. Door-to-door vendors had been charging Rs 60 per litre before the latest revision. They have now passed on the hike to households.
"The milk vendor who supplies milk at our doorstep informed us that the price would go up by Rs 6 per litre. I buy one litre every day. The monthly bill will now rise from Rs 1,800 to Rs 1,980," said A Jayanthi, a regular consumer of a private vendor milk. In some localities the rate has jumped from Rs 60 to Rs 70 per litre.
The price revision has placed an additional burden on middle-class households. While the government's move aims to support dairy farmers and strengthen the cooperative network, consumers say the price rise by private vendors has drawn attention to the gap between procurement incentives and retail rates charged by independent suppliers.
