Milk Producers and Processors Welfare Association cites rising procurement, transport, and packaging costs, triggering price adjustments across cow and buffalo milk categories.
Reporting by The Times of India details a decision taken by the Milk Producers and Processors Welfare Association in Maharashtra to increase liquid milk prices by ₹2 per litre for both cow and buffalo milk, effective August 11, 2026. Under the revised pricing structure, cow milk will rise to ₹62 per litre (up from ₹60), while buffalo milk will increase to ₹78 per litre (up from ₹76) across the state.
The price adjustment in Maharashtra follows similar retail hikes in Andhra Pradesh, where regional cooperatives like Vijaya Dairy (operated by the Krishna District Milk Producers’ Cooperative Union) raised full-cream milk prices by ₹2 per litre, taking rates from ₹78 to ₹80 per litre in Vijayawada. These concurrent revisions across western and southern states highlight broader regional cost pressures affecting India’s dairy supply chain.
Dairy association representatives explained that operational cost surges—including a ₹10 per litre increase in diesel fuel, a 30% jump in packaging material expenses, and higher raw milk procurement rates paid to farmers—necessitated the retail price revision. Processors warned that secondary dairy products, such as paneer, curd, ghee, butter, and sweets, could also see price increases of up to 10% in the coming weeks.
The regional price hikes have drawn criticism from consumer rights groups and political organizations, with parties like the CPM staging public demonstrations outside dairy retail outlets to protest frequent price revisions. The developments coincide with recent clarifications in Parliament by Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, who confirmed that the central government has no plans to implement a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for raw milk, maintaining that pricing remains strictly market-driven by private dairies and cooperative unions.
As dairy companies adjust retail pricing to cushion processing margins and compensate livestock producers for elevated cattle feed costs, the central government continues to focus on structural supply chain investments. By expanding village-level cooperative networks, upgrading cold-chain infrastructure, and distributing quality-testing devices, authorities aim to improve processing efficiency and stabilize long-term fluid milk supply across major consuming hubs.
Source: Times of India
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