Here’s Why Milk Price In Bengaluru Continues To Be Cheapest In India

New Delhi: Milk prices have increased from today as leading milk suppliers Amul and Mother Dairy have announced a price hike of Rs. 2 per liter on account of rising input costs. This is the second hike in six months by both the brands, earlier in March, both had increased milk prices by Rs. 2 per litre. The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which markets its dairy products under the Amul brand, said in a statement that the new prices will be effective from August 17 “in the markets of Ahmedabad and Saurashtra region in Gujarat, Delhi NCR, West Bengal, Mumbai, and all other markets where Amul milk is sold”.Also Read – Amul Hikes Milk Prices Again! City-Wise New Rates Here

It further said that the hike of Rs. 2 per liter will translate into a 4 percent increase in MRP (Maximum Retail Price) which is lower than the average food inflation. Also Read – Amul Welcomes President Droupadi Murmu With Special Doodle, Calls Her ‘Murmuther India’. See Post

Which city of India does milk retail the cheapest

The city where milk is the least expensive in India is Bengaluru. According to a report in The Indian Express, the IT capital or Silicon Valley of India, consumers get ‘Nandini’ (the brand of the Karnataka Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation or KMF) toned and full-cream milk for only Rs 38 and Rs 46. per liter respectively. Also Read – National Doctors’ Day: Amul Pays Tribute to Healthcare Workers With Cute Doodle. See Post

In Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata and their surrounding areas, the maximum retail price of its Amul ‘toned’ and ‘full-cream’ milk by Rs 2 to Rs 52 and Rs 62 per litre, respectively. In Chennai and Hyderabad, the local dairies cooperatives in these two cities known as ‘Aavin and ‘Vijaya’ brands are marketing toned milk at Rs. 40 and Rs. 52 per liter and full-cream milk at Rs 48 and Rs 66 per liter respectively.

But why does milk cost less in Bengaluru then in other cities

It has to do with the BJP-led Karnataka government. Under Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, the government started giving milk to farmers at Rs. 2-per-litre for the milk they supplied to the KMF-affiliated diary unions, over and above the latter’s procurement price.

The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government, in May 2013, doubled the incentive and raised it further to Rs 5/ liter in November 2016. In November 2019, when Yediyurappa was back in powder, it was increased again to Rs 6/ litre.

In August 2013, the Siddaramaiah administration unveiled a separate Ksheera Bhagya scheme. Under it, some 64 lakh children in government/ government-aided schools and another 40 lakh in pre-school ‘anganwadi’ centers were served a 150-ml glass of free milk daily — initially for three working days, which was, from July 2017 , extended to five days of the week. Ksheera Bhagya could absorb an additional average of up to 10 lakh liters per day.

But the scheme costs money. In 2019-20 alone, Rs 1,043 crore was budgeted, on top of Rs 1,459 crore for the producer incentive scheme. The actual amounts spent were less. Ksheera Bhagya has practically been discontinued post the Covid-19 pandemic. The price incentive scheme too, as already noted, has been facing a funding crunch.

According to a report published in indianexpress.com, in 2007-08, before its launch, the KMF unions procured an average of 30.25 lakh kg per day (LKPD) of milk. By 2018-19, when spending on the scheme crossed Rs 1,460 crore, this had gone up nearly 2.5 times to 74.80 LKPD.

After backlash, Karnataka Milk Federation revises rates of milk products

A day after revising the prices of curd and lassi in keeping with the GST council’s decision to levy a 5% tax on dairy products, Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) on Monday partially rolled back the hike owing to intense backlash from the public and opposition parties. .The cooperative major, which markets dairy products under the brand name Nandini and had increased the prices by Rs 2-3, has reduced the hike by 50 paise to Rs 1.5 for a variety of products.

In a statement, KMF said, “Keeping in mind interest of customers, KMF has yet again revised the prices of Nandini curd, lassi and buttermilk, effective from July 19. Accordingly, the price of a 200gram curd pouch, which was hiked from Rs. 10 to Rs 12, will now be Rs 10.5. Similarly, a 500gm curd pouch which saw an increase in price from Rs 22 to Rs 24 will now be sold at Rs 23.”