Mother Dairy Raises Milk Prices by Rs. 2

The price hike follows a similar move by Amul?

Mother Dairy announced on Monday a price hike of Rs 2 per litre for milk in the Delhi-NCR market, effective June 3.

This increase, which applies to all milk variants, is attributed to increased input costs over the past 15 months. The new pricing will also be implemented in other markets where Mother Dairy operates.

On Sunday, Amul announced an increase in its milk prices. The hikes by these two leading milk suppliers, Amul and Mother Dairy, come shortly after the completion of the voting process for the Lok Sabha elections.

In a statement, Mother Dairy announced it is "increasing its liquid milk prices by Rs 2 per litre across all operating markets from June 3, 2024, onwards."

The increase in consumer prices is mainly to compensate producers for increased production costs, which have been rising for over a year, the statement said.

In Delhi-NCR, Mother Dairy's full cream milk will now be available at Rs 68 per litre, while toned and double-toned milk will be priced at Rs 56 and Rs 50 per litre, respectively.

Buffalo milk now costs Rs 72 per litre, while cow milk is priced at Rs 58 per litre. Token milk (bulk vended milk) will be available at Rs 54 per litre.

Mother Dairy, which currently sells 35 lakh litres of fresh milk per day in Delhi-NCR, said it last revised its liquid milk prices in February 2023.

"Despite paying higher prices for milk procurement in the last few months, consumer prices were kept intact. Moreover, the heat stress across the country has been unprecedented, and it is likely to further impact milk production," Mother Dairy said.

The company noted that it allocates approximately 75-80 percent of its sales revenue from milk towards procurement costs.

This practice helps ensure the sustainability of dairy farming and the availability of quality milk.

Mother Dairy stated, "The increase in farm prices is only partially passed on to consumers, with an effective revision of 3-4 percent, thereby safeguarding the interests of both milk producers and consumers."

On Sunday night, the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which markets dairy products under the Amul brand, announced a price increase of about Rs 2 per litre, effective from Monday across the country.

GCMMF stated in a late-night statement that the Rs 2 per litre increase translates to a 3-4 percent increase in maximum retail price (MRP), which is considerably lower than the average food inflation.

GCMMF mentioned that it has not increased the prices of fresh pouch milk in major markets since February 2023.

"This price hike is necessary due to the overall increase in the cost of operation and milk production. Our member unions have also increased the farmer's price by approximately 6-8 percent over the last year," GCMMF stated.

Amul's policy entails passing on almost 80 paise of every rupee paid by consumers for milk and milk products to the milk producers.

"The price revision aims to sustain remunerative milk prices for our milk producers and encourage higher milk production," the statement noted.