Business News. Amul or the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) has decided to increase milk prices for 500 ml packs by Rs 2, effective from August 17. Amul said that the increase of Rs 2 translates to a hike of 4 per cent in MRP, which is lower than the average food inflation.
The increase in milk prices will be effective in the markets of Ahmedabad and Saurashtra of Gujarat, Delhi-NCR,West Bengal, Mumbai and all other markets where Amul is marketing its fresh milk, it said.
The price of 500 ml of Amul Gold milk will now be Rs 31 in Ahmedabad and Saurashtra. Half a litre of Amul Taaza will now cost Rs 25 and Amul Shakti has been priced at Rs 28 per 500 ml in these markets.
“This price hike is being done due to an increase in overall cost of operation and production of milk. The cattle feeding cost alone has increased to approximately 20 per cent compared to last year. Considering the rise in input costs, our member unions have also increased farmers’ prices in the range of 8-9 per cent over previous year,” it said.
As a policy, Amul said, it passes on almost 80 paise of every rupee for milk and milk products to the milk producers. “The price revision shall help in sustaining remunerative milk prices to our milk producers and to encourage them for higher milk production,” stated Amul.
Amul had increased its milk prices by Rs 2 from March 1. During the March hike, Amul had stated that for the past 2 years, the company had made only a 4 per cent increase per annum in its fresh milk category. The corporation had then explained that the price hike was being done due to rise in costs of energy, packaging, logistics, cattle feeding cost.
Amul MD RS Sodhi had recently said, ”Prices will be firm, I can’t say by how much. They can’t go down from here, they can only go up.”
Stressing that inflation in this industry is not a cause for worry per se because the farmers are benefitting through higher prices for the produce, Sodhi said the hikes by Amul and the broader dairy sector are very limited as compared to others or when compared to the rise in input costs.
