Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will take a final decision on the demand raised by the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) to increase the price of milk by ₹3 per litre.
Responding to a plea made by Congress member S. Ravi, Cooperation Minister S.T. Somashekar told the Legislative Council that the Chief Minister was aware of the issue, and that he would decide on it.
Consumers’ interest
“We also have to consider the interest of consumers. Several consumers have written to the Chief Minister against the hike. KMF has said that the hike effected will be passed on to farmers,” he said.
When Mr. Ravi said that though the unions had the right to raise the price of milk on their own but had been dependent on the government’s decision as a precedent had been set, the Minister shot back: “If they can raise the price, why are they seeking the government’s permission?” He also pointed out that it was the government that bailed out the milk federation during the pandemic by paying ₹70 crore for the milk supplied free, and also by purchasing milk powder when the stocks went up.
Not recovering cost
Earlier, Mr. Ravi said that the farmers have not recovered the labour cost for milk produced since the procurement rates varied around ₹27 a litre besides the ₹5 financial incentive given to farmers. “The input costs have gone up. Due to high moisture content in the fodder, the quality of milk and fat content has come down resulting in the drop of milk procurement by Bengaluru Milk Union from about 19 lake litre a day to 16 lakh litre a day,” he said. Farmers should get at least ₹35 per litre in procurement price.
