KMF asks Karnataka govt to raise milk prices by ₹3 per litre - here's why
The Karnataka Milk Federation has proposed to the state government to raise the price of Nandini milk by Rs. 3 a litre.
The Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), a dairy cooperative under the brand name ‘Nandini’ has proposed to the Bommai government to raise the price of milk by Rs. 3 a litre, a leading daily reported. This comes after KMF's expenses have skyrocketed by 25% to 30% due to a spike in the cost of raw materials and processing of milk, the chairperson of the KMF reportedly said in a press note.
Reports said that the general body of the Federation, in their January meeting, unanimously decided on the price hike and submitted their proposal to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai after considering the increase in their expenses. The KMF had last hiked prices of milk in February 2020, where the per litre price was increased by Rs. 2 per litre.
Earlier this month, talks indicated that the KMF could raise milk prices by Rs. 5 per litre. The managing director of the KMF had then told media that the hike would be due to increased electricity and fuel prices. He had added that milk farmers are being burdened also by rising costs of transportation.
He had told Deccan Herald that due to COVID-19 related restrictions, there is also a short supply of corrugated boxes in the market, which are needed in large numbers to the federation for packaging. The shortage in pulp has also indirectly demanded a hike in milk prices, he told.
The KMF chairperson Balakrishna Jarkiholi had said in the letter sent to CM Bommai that farmers will also be benefitted if milk prices are hiked. Adding that other milk cooperatives in the state like Amul have already raised milk prices, Jarkiholi wrote that Nandini milk costs Rs. 8 to Rs. 10 less than milk sold by other cooperative societies.
According to the letter by KMF, if milk prices are hiked by Rs. 3, Rs. 2 will go to farmers directly and Rs. 1 to the cooperative society. According to a report, the turnover of the 14 different milk cooperative societies in the state collectively amounted to Rs. 19,732 crores this year, a 20 percent increase from the Rs. 16,440.74 crores earned in 2019-2020. Jarkiholi added in his letter that the milk cooperative societies are looking at a 25 percent increase in turnover next year.
