Milk to be dearer by Rs 2 in Delhi, NCR from today

New Delhi: Milk prices in the national capital and adjoining areas will rise by up to Rs 2 per litre from Monday with two leading suppliers hiking rates, but largest seller Mother Dairy is not increasing rates just yet.

Amul and Quality Dairy will increase milk prices from Monday. Mother Dairy and Paras are the other two major milk suppliers in the national capital and its adjoining areas which consume over 115 lakh litres milk a day.

"Amul Taaza (toned) milk will cost Rs 30 per litre from tomorrow in Delhi and NCR compared to Rs 29 per litre, while slim and trim shall cost Rs 26 per litre in place of Rs 25. Amul Gold (full cream) will be Rs 40 per litre against Rs 38 per litre," RS Sodhi, Managing Director, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which sells products under Amul brand name, told.

Quality Dairy would also raise the price by Rs 2 for full-cream milk and Re 1 for tonned and double-tonned, its Vice President (Marketing), Rajesh Verma said. The company sells 1.25 lakhs litre everyday in Delhi and NCR.

Mother Dairy, the largest milk supplier in the region, however, said it would not immediately increase the price. Amul, the second largest milk supplier in Delhi and NCR with a daily sales of nearly 20 lakh litres of milk per day, said expenditure on milk production has gone up for farmers and GCMMF has also hiked the procurement price.

Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation has already increased milk prices in Gujarat and Mumbai in April.

"In the last three years, remuneration paid to farmers supplying milk to GCMMF has gone up by 50 per cent," Sodhi said.

In the last financial year, GCMMF, which supplies milk to major cities and important states, had announced a hike of around 14-15 per cent.

"We play a delicate balance between consumer price and the procurement price. We are closely watching the procurement prices. Depending upon how it moves in summer, we will review our consumer prices," Mother Dairy Managing Director S

Nagarajan said.

Asked would there be any immediate price hike, he said, "Not immediately. This is not going to happen this week or next week, but we are watching the farmers price".

Paras could not be immediately contacted. Mother Dairy supplies 29-30 lakh litres of milk per day in Delhi and the NCR, including loose milk through vending machines.

Milk production in the country now is at around 125 million litres. Demand is growing at faster pace of 6 per cent than production.