The proposal of KMF for a hike of ₹5 per litre was not accepted by the earlier BJP authorities, which had allowed a hike of ₹2 in November 2022.
| Photo Credit: H.S. Manjunath
Less than a yr after the price of Nandini milk was hiked by ₹2 per litre, the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) is getting ready to search a hike of ₹5 per litre.
While the proposal of KMF for a hike of ₹5 per litre was not accepted by the earlier BJP authorities, it had allowed a hike of ₹2 in November 2022. The hike had not happy farmers, who’re reeling beneath elevated enter price, in addition to the district milk unions that had sought a greater hike since milk procurement had come down drastically. At ₹39 per litre, milk in Karnataka is among the many least expensive in India.
Bhima Naik, Congress chief and a shut affiliate of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who took over as KMF Chairman on June 21, has mentioned that the federation is beneath strain from unions and farmers to increase the price. KMF will current a proposal to the State Government. “In the coming days, KMF will provide more procurement cost than what is being offered by private dairies. Milk production had seen a dip after lumpy skin disease affected cattle, but production is improving.”
Cooperation Minister Okay.N. Rajanna additionally hinted at a hike in milk price, and mentioned that the difficulty might be taken up for dialogue after the State finances session. According to him, the each day procurement of milk in Karnataka by KMF is about 87 lakh litres, and the common procurement price supplied to farmers is about ₹33 per litre.
The Minister mentioned, “I am committed to protect the welfare of farmers. When consumers pay for water, why can’t they pay more for milk ? We are here to safeguard the interest of milk producers, and not consumers. We will transfer 90% of profit to farmers.”
While the price of Nandini milk is lower than the price of milk bought by non-public dairies, the price of feed and fodder had gone up, he added.
Animal Husbandry Minister Okay. Venkatesh mentioned that the milk price hike could be determined after consultations with the federal government.
Bengaluru Milk Union president Narasimha Murthy, who has been vocal about rising the retail price of milk for the previous two years, mentioned that the earlier hike of ₹2 per litre by the BJP authorities had not helped farmers since milk procurement had not gone up considerably. “Bamul collected 19 lakh litres in peak of flush season in 2022. The procurement in 2023, that had touched 16 lakh litres a day, had dropped down to 15.75 lakh litres as on June 22. Farmers are not coming forward to increase production.”
