After onion price, now milk prices will increase by Rs 2-3 per litre from Monday in Maharashtra. Packaged milk, which was being sold at Rs 42-44 a litre, will be charged at Rs 44-46.
According to Indian Express, the decision to increase the minimum retail price of milk was taken in a meeting of the Dairy Farmers and Processors Welfare Association (an umbrella body of private and cooperative dairies in the state) in Pune on Saturday. In a meeting held on Saturday by milk private and cooperative producers, it was decided to hike the rate of milk to tide over these crises.
Even Amul and Mother Dairy will hike their milk prices from Monday. India's leading dairy firm Amul on Saturday announced hiking milk prices by Rs 2 per litre across various states, while Mother Dairy increased rates by up to Rs 3 per litre in Delhi-NCR due to rise in procurement cost.
The new prices will be effective from Sunday (December 15), Mother Dairy and Amul said in separate statements. Prices of raw milk are generally lower in the winter season, but this year they have risen due to late monsoon followed by excess rains. Increase in milk prices by the two major dairy firms could impact retail inflation, which spiked to a more than three-year high of 5.54 per cent in November due to costlier food products.
Dasarath Mane, chairman and managing director of the Indapur Dairy and Milk Products, the proprietor of brand Sonai told Indian Express that "the double whammy of drought and flash floods have taken a toll on milk production. Dairies are forced to increase the selling price of milk in view of the increased cost of production and 10-15 per cent dip in milk production."
The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) which sells its products under `Amul' brand has increased the price of its milk by Rs 2 per litre from Sunday in Ahmedabad and Saurashtra in Gujarat, and across Delhi NCR, West Bengal, Mumbai and Maharashtra markets. In all these markets, the price of Amul Gold milk will be Rs 28 per 500 ml, and Amul Taaza will be sold at Rs 22 per 500 ml, the GCMMF said in a release on Saturday.
