After the Rs 2 hike in the price of Nandini milk, consumers should brace themselves for another hit in their grocery bills, with the price of curd set to rise, the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) chief said on Wednesday.
M K Jagadish, MD, KMF, told indianexpress.com that the federation was working out a mechanism to increase the curd price by next week, adding that prices of other milk-related products would remain unchanged.
“We couldn’t increase the price of curd at the same time as milk because we were still working out the modalities. Once we arrive at a pricing mechanism, we will try to increase the rate of curd by Rs 2 and also the volume accordingly. This is again on the grounds of excess production of milk in Karnataka,” he said.
Jagadish said the rise in the milk production would not affect the production cost and that the increase in the volume of milk sold would be temporary. “This is only a temporary solution given that the current season has seen milk production increase multifold in the state. Depending on the supply of milk in the coming seasons, we will decide on reduction accordingly,” he said.
Many consumers and the Opposition BJP have opposed the milk price rise. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, however, has said the KMF has only priced milk proportionally by taking into account the additional 50 ml of milk it provides.
“This decision by the KMF aims to ensure that farmers’ additional milk production is not rejected at collection centres. Compared to last year, milk production in the state has increased by 15 per cent. Last year, the average daily production was 90 lakh litres, whereas this year it has increased to an average of 99 lakh litres per day,” he said. “To accommodate this surplus production and ensure farmers are not turned away, the KMF has decided to increase the milk content in each packet by 50 ml, with only a Rs 2 charge for the additional milk… This decision by the KMF aims to benefit the lakhs of dairy farmers and ensure the surplus milk directly reaches consumers.”
Most of the milk now goes into milk powder production, Siddaramaiah said. Approximately 30 lakh litres of milk is used daily for producing 250 metric tonnes of milk powder.
“When our government came into power, the average daily milk collection in the state was around 72 lakh litres. We implemented a Rs 3 increase in the milk price, directing the additional funds directly to farmers and making dairy farming more profitable,” he said.
The chief minister said the daily milk production has risen significantly thanks to factors including good rainfall, which has ensured ample green fodder for cattle, adding that the KMF decision was therefore “beneficial for both farmers and consumers”.
