Bowing to demands from farmers and milk producer unions, the Karnataka government has agreed to hike milk prices, Animal Husbandry Minister K Venkatesh told the Legislative Council on Wednesday.
Responding to a question from BJP MLC Hemalatha Nayak, the minister said that though the exact increase in milk prices was yet to be determined, the hike would be announced soon. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will take a final call on the matter, he said.
“The production cost has increased in the past few years and the farmers are demanding a hike of Rs 10 per litre. We have brought this to the notice of the chief minister,” he added.
The current milk price in Karnataka is Rs 44 per litre, following a Rs 3 hike announced in August last year.
During the discussion on the issue, the minister told the Council that the state government owed dairy farmers Rs 613.5 crore towards incentives between October 2025 and February 2025. This was in response to questions from Congress MLC Umashree and the BJP’s M G Mule. “Insufficient allocation and increased milk production is the reason for pending dues,” the minister added.
As per data provided by the minister, Rs 656 crore towards 90.04 lakh beneficiaries is due. The government gives farmers an incentive of Rs 5 per litre of milk. The animal husbandry department will clear the dues as soon as it receives approval from the finance department, according to the minister.
“The dues are pending from 2019-2020. The BJP government had left dues of Rs 700 crore,” he said.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
