Dairy News

Amul to hike milk prices by Rs 2/litre from March

Tuesday, 28/02/2017

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vadodara/amul-to-hike-milk-prices-by-rs-2/litre-from-march/articleshow/57381534.cms

VADODARA: This summer is set to burn a hole in your pockets as prices of all dairy products are set to soar.

Dairy major - Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) that markets brand Amul, has already increased prices of dairy products including cheese, butter, dairy whitener, ghee, buttermilk and ice-creams. Now, even prices of your daily necessity - milk - will soar by Rs 2 per litre with effect from March across the country.

"Since May 2014, prices of all dairy products except milk had remained stagnant. In last two to three months we have marginally increased prices of dairy products like butter, ghee, dairy whitener, buttermilk and ice-creams. We are paying more procurement price to farmers. Naturally, we will have to increase milk prices too," said GCMMF's managing director R S Sodhi, confirming that milk prices across the country will be hiked by Rs two per litre in all the six variants in the month of March.

The date of price revision is yet to be decided. In June 2016, Amul had last hiked milk prices by Rs 2 per litre across the country.

"The cattle feed cost has gone up by 25 %, while the cost of green fodder has gone up by 20 to 25 %. And hence, we have to pay better procurement prices to our farmers," said Sodhi, adding that GCMMF's member dairy unions are paying anywhere between Rs 610 to Rs 635 per kg fat to their farmer members.

Price of cheese had already increased by Rs ten per kilo with effect from July last when a 200 gram cheese slice packet which came at Rs 112 started costing Rs 115. Similarly, prices of butter increased by Rs 20 per kilo with effect from October last when 100 gram butter packet which was sold at Rs 42 started selling at Rs 44.

Starting from January this year, Amul increased prices of ghee, buttermilk, dairy whitener and ice-creams. While price of a 500 ml pouch of ghee increased by Rs 220 to Rs 225 from January, price of a 200 ml buttermilk (Tetra Pak) increased from Rs 10 to Rs 12 in the same month. Similarly, price of dairy whitener also increased by Rs 10 per kilo as 500 gram packet which was sold at Rs 173 started selling at Rs 178 from January.

The dairy major which enjoys 40 % share in the Rs 2,500 crore organised ice-cream market increased prices of ice-creams by 5 to 8 % this month.

"We have not increased prices in all variants of ice-creams. But in some varieties the prices have increased in the range of Rs 5 to Rs 10 per litre," said a GCMMF official.

Through the network of its 17 affiliated district dairy unions Amul's peak milk procurement has touched 210 lakh litres milk per day. Last year, it had clocked turnover of close to Rs 22,700 crore.

From January this year, Amul hiked prices of ghee, buttermilk, dairy whitener and ice-creams.