Pay more for a glass full of 'doodh' in Ahmedabad

The heat is truly on! First it was AC, mobiles and refrigerators, then edible oil and vegetables, followed by CNG and PNG a few days back.  If you still had the bucks to soak in hikes in these commodities and services after they became dearer from April 1, brace up to get milked more as GCMMF, which promotes Amul brand is all set to raise the prices of milk by Re1-2 per litre across all brands. 

The revised prices, to be implemented later this month, will mean that milk sold at around Rs36 per litre will now cost you Rs38 per litre before the month ends.

However, only silver lining in this step is that Amul has decided to increase the milk prices by only up to 7% against the 22% hike in last two years. Explaining the hike, RS Sodhi, managing director, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), said, “In summer, we have to increase the procurement charges of farmers which will be passed on to the consumer.    

In last two years, we have increased milk prices by 22%. However, this year, we want to increase the milk prices by 5% to 7% only."

GCMMF, which procures milk from 31 lakh farmers, has witnessed 20% rise in all-time-high procurement in peak season. It has jumped to 145 lakh litre from 112 lakh litre per day last year.

"Till last year, we had paid around Rs33 per litre to the farmer for buffalo's milk and for cow's milk we had paid Rs23 per litre. Now, this year, we are revising the procurement payment by another 5% to 7%. Hence, we will have to increase the milk prices in similar amount," said Sodhi during launch of new whey protein malt beverage, Amul PRO.

Around 80% of the MRP of the milk goes to the farmer, said Sodhi. "In last two years, we had to increase milk prices twice or thrice a year. Because of which, we succeeded in retaining farmers with us. As a result, this year, the supply of milk and milk powder is exceeding the demand. So for, this and next year, the prices of milk will see marginal rise," said Sodhi.