Sudha milk to cost Rs 2-3 more per litre, consumers in Bihar, Jharkhand to feel price pinch

The Sudha Gold (full cream variant) and cow milk will be dearer by Rs 3 per litre. Prices of other three variants - standard (sold as Sudha Shakti in green pouch), toned and double toned - have also been increased by Rs 2/litre each.

Consumers will have to shell out extra Rs 2-3 per litre for sourcing their daily requirement of milk from Sudha Dairy outlets, as Comfed has decided to raise prices of its different variants.

Sudha milk plant of Ranchi Dairy at Dhurwa in Ranchi. (Hindustan Times file photo/Parwaz Khan)

The new rates will be effective across Bihar and Jharkhand from Friday morning.

From now on, Sudha Gold (the full cream variant) and cow milk will be dearer by Rs 3. While Sudha Gold will sport a price tag of Rs 48, up from the current price of Rs 45, cow milk lovers will have to pay Rs 40, instead of the going rate of Rs 37.

The prices of other three variants — Standard (sold as Sudha Shakti in green pack), toned and double toned — have also been increased by Rs 2 each. The effective rate for the three popular variants, which account for almost 70% of the supplies, will be Rs 41, 37 and 34 respectively.

The move comes after Comfed decided to endorse milk producers’ demand for a hike in procurement prices. “It has been decided to raise the price of milk sourced from primary producers by a minimum of Rs 1.50 to Rs 3.50, depending on the quality,” said Sudhir Kumar Singh, MD, Patna Dairy Project.

According to sources, the cooperative societies have been pressing for a hike in procurement prices for the last three months.

Defending the hike, Comfed MD Seema Tripathi said the input costs like prices of diesel and electricity have gone up, in addition to the impact of GST on packaging — the slab for which has been fixed at 18%.

Singh said one has to keep the interest of poor farmers. Remunerative prices can keep them going, he said. Incidentally, Rs 5-6 crore are pumped into the rural economy as payments against procurement.

While the move will burn a hole in the pocket of consumers grappling with rising prices, including products of daily use like petrol and diesel, Comfed sources maintain that even after the present revision Sudha milk continue to sport a price of Rs 4-5 less than that of Amul which is sold at Rs 52, albeit in a tetra pack.

Comfed had previously revised its milk price on December 1, 2016.