Get ready to pay more for milk in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) from Monday. Faced with a rise in input costs, Mother Dairy has increased prices of full-cream milk by `1 per litre and token milk by `2 per litre.
This is the fourth round of hike in milk prices this year by Mother Dairy, one of the leading milk suppliers in Delhi-NCR, with volumes of more than 30 lakh litres per day. However, the company hasn’t altered the rates of full-cream milk sold in 500 ml packs.
“Mother Dairy has increased the prices of full-cream milk by `1 to `64 per litre,” a company spokesperson said. Token milk (bulk vended milk) will be sold at `50 per litre from Monday as against `48 per litre now.
The hike in milk prices will hit household budgets at a time when food inflation is already at a high level.
Mother Dairy attributed the hike in prices to an increase in its procurement cost of raw milk from dairy farmers. “This year, the entire dairy industry is witnessing a huge gap in the demand and supply of milk,” the spokesperson added.
The availability of raw milk has been impacted due to the increased cost of feed and fodder, and erratic monsoon, putting stress on prices of raw milk, Mother Dairy said. Moreover, Mother Dairy said the demand for processed milk has gone up.
“The ongoing mismatch in the demand-supply, even after the festive season, has further led to the firming of raw milk prices. We are therefore constrained to partially pass on the impact with revision in consumer prices of certain variants,” the spokesperson said. The revision in prices will enable the company to continue supporting farmers with the right remuneration while ensuring quality milk for consumers, Mother Dairy said.
Mother Dairy passes on about 75-80 per cent of prices paid by consumers to the milk producers. On October 16, Mother Dairy increased prices of full-cream milk and cow milk by Rs 2 per litre in Delhi-NCR and some other markets in North India. Rates were raised by Rs 2 per litre for all variants in March and August as well.
Mother Dairy has 9 company-owned processing plants for dairy. The firm also undertakes processing at third-party facilities. The total milk processing capacity is over 50 lakh litres per day. For fresh fruits and vegetables, the company has its own 4 plants, while for edible oils it manufactures through 16 associated plants.