The price of fresh milk in Mumbai is expected to go beyond Rs 80 per litre as the Bombay Milk Producers Association decided to raise the wholesale price of fresh milk from Rs 73 per litre to Rs 78. With an additional transportation charge of Rs 2, the wholesale rate will touch Rs 80. With this, the price of milk in the retail markets and shops is expected to rise to 87-89 per litre from the current Rs 82-84 .
Explaining the reason behind the hike, the president of the Milk Producers Association CK Singh said that milk production cost has gone higher than ever with tremendously increasing prices of bovine, feed, medicines, wages and animal care. The cost for procurement of milk has also gone up 8-10 per cent in the past six months owing to various reasons such as cattle diseases in some of the major milk-producing states and high prices of cattle feed.
However, the milk wholesaler’s association points out that the price hike of milk is below the normal rate of food inflation in the country. Singh hopes that the public will understand the situation. The new rates will come to effect from September 1.
With the hike in prices for wholesale milk, the cost of milk-based products including tea is also expected to go high in the coming months.
Meanwhile, the announcement has stirred discussion on social media as well with many saying that it will adversely affect their domestic budget.
The average daily consumption of milk in Mumbai and the surrounding areas is more than 85 lakh litres. The key suppliers include Amul, Gokul, Warna, Mother Dairy, Prabhat and Govardhan along with the local dairies across the city. Recently, Amul and Mother Dairy also increased the price of milk by two rupees per litre.
