Mumbai milk prices to rise by Rs 9 per litre from September one

The revised rate will increase cost to R102/litre from the current Rs 93/litre. REPRESENTATION PIC/ISTOCK

Milk prices are set to rise in the city starting September 1, with the Mumbai Milk Producers Association (MMPA) announcing a Rs 9 per litre hike in the wholesale price of milk. The revised rate will increase to Rs 102 from Rs 93 per litre and will remain applicable until February 28, 2027, according to MMPA president Chandra Kumar Singh.

[popcorn number="Rs 93" desc="Current rate per litre" class="Default"]

Cost of maintenance

MMPA has attributed the increase to rising costs of maintaining dairy animals and procuring cattle feed. Prices of several cattle feed ingredients, including grains, tur chuni, and chana chuni, have increased by up to 25 per cent, while the cost of oil cakes and other inputs has also gone up. According to the MMPA, the hike is intended to provide relief to milk producers who have been struggling with increased production costs.

Retail price may vary

The hike is the wholesale rate, while the retail prices for consumers may vary depending on dairy, supplier, and distribution network. The hike is nevertheless expected to put additional pressure on household budgets. Small businesses like tea stalls, sweet shops, and eateries that rely may experience financial strain. "Despite war situations that happened in the recent past, milk rates were unchanged, and this has put us in a difficult situation to sustain," explained Firoz Patel, president, Aarey Milk Producers Association.

FDA raids one of the reasons

>> Feed given to the cattle has become costly
>> Cost of cattle imported from Haryana and Gujarat has increased
>> FDA raids have led to a reduction in the production of synthetic milk
>> Hay, which cost Rs 10 per kg, now costs Rs 18 per kg
>> Electricity costs have increased

Citizen Speak

Nayana Joshi, a resident of Dadar,
‘Milk is an essential item that we buy every single day. A R9 increase may sound small, but for a middle-class family buying two to three litres daily, it will add up to a significant amount each month. Everything is already becoming expensive'

Priya Mehta, a resident of Thane,
‘The milk producers may have genuine reasons for increasing the price because their input costs have gone up, but consumers are also struggling. Whenever milk becomes expensive, products like curd, sweets, and other dairy items also become costlier'

Nupur Singh, a resident of Andheri,
‘The timing of the hike is worrying because the festive season is approaching. Families already spend more during Ganpati and other festivals, and higher milk prices will make sweets and other preparations more expensive too'

Manisha Satam, a resident of Borivli,
‘Prices of vegetables, groceries, and other daily necessities have already put pressure on our monthly budget. Now another R9 per litre for milk means we would have to carefully calculate every household expense. For salaried families, the repeated price hikes are becoming difficult to absorb'