MUMBAI: The country's largest dairy Amul Saturday increased the price of buffalo milk and full cream milk (Amul Gold) by Rs 2 per litre in all markets except Gujarat.
This is the third increase this year, and the fourth since July 2021. Prices were last raised in March and August 2022.
Full cream milk, branded as Amul Gold, will now cost Rs 63 per litre as compared to Rs 61 while the buffalo variant will sell for Rs 65 over Rs 63. The price of full cream milk has seen a steady growth this past year. It cost Rs 56 in June 2021 which was increased to Rs 58 in July of that year. In March 2022 it went up to Rs 60 and rose to Rs 61 in August. Now it costs Rs 63.
Amul managing director RS Sodhi said to TOI, "This increase is mainly to improve the income of farmers [burdened] due to the rise in price of [cattle] feed, whose cost has increased from 30-35%. So what is inflation for urban consumers is an increase in income to farmers. So rural India, Bharat, is also growing."
A company spokesman said a price hike in Gujarat, which is their largest base, was not implemented yet but may be effected subsequently.
Following suit a few hours later, Mother Dairy also increased the price of full cream milk by Rs 2 per litre in Mumbai from Rs 61 to Rs 63.
Every segment of buyer from individual households, hotels and restaurants, roadside tea vendors and institutional buyers like schools and colleges, hostels, hospitals, prisons, NGOs as well as common canteens are burdened by this repeat increase.
However, sources in the industry blame government policies and neglect of the industry as costing them dear. Apart from the onerous GST levy, the unbridled increase in fuel prices -- including now CNG -- has resulted in higher transportation costs for large dairies as well as small milk farmers. Moreover, fodder inflation is at a nine-year high and shortages are rampant. To add to their woes, lumpy skin disease across 15 states has killed almost one lakh cattle while affecting another 20 lakh.