Chennai: Just a month after the last price increase, Hatsun, a leading private dairy in South India, announced another round of hikes, effective from Friday. The latest revision pushes the price of full cream milk to 80 per litre, marking an all-time high.
As per a circular issued to distributors, the price of Arokya milk will go up by 4 a litre, while a kg of curd will cost 3 more. A one-litre carton of full cream milk will now be sold at 82.
This increase is expected to have a ripple effect on the food service industry, as restaurants, tea shops, and office canteens heavily rely on private dairy brands such as Hatsun. “The 4 a litre hike will inevitably raise the cost of tea, coffee, and dairy-based products, burdening salaried employees, daily wage workers and ordinary households,” said T Sadagopan, a consumer rights activist, urging an immediate rollback.
The Tamil Nadu Milk Dealers’ Welfare Association strongly condemned Hatsun’s unilateral price hike, warning that it could trigger a chain reaction, prompting other private dairies to follow suit.
This pattern played out repeatedly in recent months. In Dec 2023 and Feb 2024, major private dairy firms from Andhra Pradesh increased milk prices by 2 a litre twice, along with a 5 a kg hike in curd prices. Tamil Nadu’s major and mid-sized private dairies followed the trend, escalating consumer costs.
While private dairies cite rising procurement and raw material costs to justify price hikes, activists argue otherwise. “Despite a slight dip in milk production due to summer, procurement and raw material costs have not significantly increased,” said S A Ponnusamy, president of the association.
Consumer activists attribute the unregulated price hikes to the state’s lack of control over private dairies. While Tamil Nadu regulates procurement and selling prices for Aavin, it has no authority over private players. Activists are now urging the state govt to seek central approval to regulate private milk pricing and introduce legislation in the upcoming assembly session to prevent arbitrary price hikes, safeguarding both farmers and consumers.
