​Milk prices rise by Rs 2/litre; milk products to be 8-10% more costly in Pune

Pune: After Gokul, other dairies like Katraj, Chitale have also hiked milk prices or are going to do it shortly The price of milk products like paneer, ghee, dahi and butter are also likely to rise by 8-10%.“We have hiked the prices of buffalo milk by Rs 2 per litre because of the overall increase in procurement costs from farmers and also transport, packaging costs. We have still not taken price increase in cow’s milk,” said Yogesh Godbole, managing director, Gokul.Nikhil Chitale, managing partner at Chitale Dairy, also said the company will hike prices for both cow and buffalo milk by Rs2 per litre. After price hike, cow milk will be available for retail customers at Rs64 per litre and buffalo milk will be priced at Rs78 per litre. “We are purchasing at a higher cost from farmers. Cattle feed is more expensive, diesel is higher, packaging costs are higher. Milk products will be 7-8% more expensive as well,” he said. Dairy owners said most of these price increases have been passed on to farmers and distributors.Rising input and transport costs have been key factors behind the price increase, said dairy owners. “We had a meeting with our members, and we have decided to hike prices for both cow and buffalo milk. Some of these price hikes have been effective from Aug 11. Milk products will also be more expensive by about 10%,” said Prakash Kutwal, secretary of the Maharashtra Rajya Dudh Vyavsayik Sanghatana, which has 253 members, belonging to private dairies and cooperatives.This is the second hike that dairies have taken this year, with the first hike being taken in March-April. Consumers are already feeling the pinch. “There is a huge increase in household budgets due to price increases. This price increase for milk translates to about Rs120 increase a month for us,” said Poonam Shinde, a resident of Wanowrie. “When daily essentials get expensive, it becomes very difficult to manage overall expenses. We are now spending 25% more every month because prices of just about everything have gone up,” said Sachin Tripathi, a resident of Fatima Nagar.Kishore Jain, who runs a tea stall at Salunkhe Vihar, said, “I have not increased the price of tea or coffee for the last one year, but now milk, sugar and even gas is more costly. I will have to increase by at least Re1 or Rs2 a cup.”