Bengaluru: All 16 district milk cooperative unions of Karnataka Milk Federation Friday urged the state govt to increase Nandini milk price by Rs 5 a litre on the back of severe drought, rising input costs and widening losses.
The unions had sought an increase of ₹8 to ₹10 per litre, along with a similar hike in incentive paid to dairy farmers. Later, they pared it to Rs 5. Bangalore Milk Union president DK Suresh said milk cooperatives are under financial pressure in the past 6-7 months. Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra receive more than ₹41 per litre, Karnataka producers receive around ₹35 While farmers in Tamil Nadu. KMF, which handles 60 lakh litres of milk a day, is said to be losing ₹60 lakh a day amid the widening gap between procurement costs and consumer prices.
Sources in KMF said Karnataka’s milk producers remain among the lower-paid dairy farmers in South India. If approved, the price revision will be the fourth in three years. “KMF has maintained low prices in public interest. With private dairies aggressively procuring milk at higher rates, Karnataka’s milk cooperatives are facing pressure to remain competitive,” he added.
Chief minister DK Shivakumar is expected to decide on the proposal on Saturday.