Karnataka milk price hike justified by rising production costs: DK Suresh

DK Suresh, president of Bamulu, was speaking to The Hindu in Bengaluru on Friday. | Photo credit: K. MURALI KUMAR

Defending the recent increase in milk and curd prices by the Karnataka Milk Federation Ltd., President of Bengaluru Milk Union Ltd., DK Suresh, said that if the hike was not implemented, there were fears that dairy farmers would give up due to meager earnings.

Despite an increase in milk price by ₹8 to ₹12 per liter and curd by ₹14 per kg, the price of milk was still lower in Karnataka compared to the prevailing price in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (₹66 per litre), Gujarat (₹57 per litre) and Mrdesh and Sur5 Pradesh and Uttar Hindu on Friday.

“Farmers have been demanding an upward revision in the purchase price for the past six months. The cost of oil cake has increased by up to 80% while the cost of bran, maize and cattle feed has increased by 49%. The price of maize per tonne has increased from ₹ 22,000 to ₹ 35,000 per tonne to ₹ 0 0 per tonne. ₹ 64,000 per tonne There is a major shortage of green fodder. Bangalore Urban President, The Rural and Ramanagara District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Societies Union Ltd. (Bamul) also said that farmers could start selling milk to private dairies that pay them ₹42 per litre.

After the latest round of price revision, farmers are getting ₹42 per liter as procurement price while they are also getting ₹5 per liter as incentive.

Mr. Suresh claimed that KMF witnessed an increase in milk procurement by around 10 million liters after the increase in purchase price. On average, KMF now procures 1.16 million liters per day. “Unemployment and migration have also reduced as young people buy one or two cows and sell the milk to KMF. The government’s incentive of ₹5 per liter also encourages milk farmers. The government spends about ₹2,500 crore annually.”

Elaborating on the cost of milk production for district unions, he said that the cost of plastic crates, culture used in curd, fat used in milk, fuel oil, commercial diesel and gas, refrigeration and electricity have all increased since the beginning of the West Asian War, apart from the cost of ESI and Provident Fund. “The price of fuel oil has gone up by 40%; commercial diesel is ₹115 per litre, commercial gas cylinder is ₹600 and the price of a crate has gone up from ₹250 to ₹360. The total cost of production has gone up by at least 40%,” he said.

Curd prices will reduce after deepavali

Bamulu president DK Suresh said a slight downward revision in curd prices is expected after Deepavali. “We have to follow the government’s instructions to reduce the price of curd. It will be reduced after Deepavali, after a meeting with the presidents of dairy unions across the state. The revised prices will be announced soon,” he said. The price of one liter of curd is now ₹ 68 per liter.

Published – 07 Nov 2026 06:01 IST