Amul, Mother Dairy hike milk prices by Rs 2-4 per litre from November 12

Households across India will have to pay more for milk from Thursday, November 12, as dairy cooperatives Amul and Mother Dairy have announced price increases across several variants of their liquid milk products.

The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which markets dairy products under the Amul brand, has announced a price revision of around 4 to 5 per cent on some of its major fresh milk variants across the markets it serves.

Under the revised rates, Amul Taaza, the toned milk variant containing 3 per cent fat, will become costlier by Rs 2 per litre. The price increase represents a hike of around 3.3 per cent.

Amul Gold, which contains 6 per cent fat, will see a sharper increase of Rs 4 per litre, translating into a 5.5 per cent hike.

Explaining the decision, GCMMF attributed the revision to a significant rise in the cost of milk production and processing.

The federation said the prices of green and dry fodder, cattle-feed ingredients such as oil cake, maize and molasses, packaging materials and fuel had increased considerably over the past year, adding to the overall cost of production.

It also cited unfavourable weather conditions, particularly low and uneven rainfall in Gujarat and several other parts of the country, which have affected dairy farmers.

"In the current challenging environmental circumstances due to low and uneven rainfall in Gujarat as well as many parts of India, we are constrained to increase the consumer price of milk to pay better prices to our producers and support them in these difficult times," the federation said.

GCMMF said its member milk unions had increased the procurement prices paid to farmers by 4 to 5 per cent over the past year. The latest revision in consumer prices is intended to sustain these payments and support milk producers.

The federation also highlighted its cooperative model, stating that around 80 per cent of the revenue collected from consumers through the Amul cooperative structure is returned to its 36 lakh milk producers.

It added that a significant portion of the latest price increase would also be passed on to farmers to encourage milk production.

Meanwhile, Mother Dairy has announced a similar price revision, increasing rates by Rs 2 to Rs 4 per litre across its liquid milk range, with the revised prices also coming into effect from November 12.

The simultaneous price increases by the two major dairy brands are expected to add to household expenditure on daily essentials.