Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Nov 5: Just when consumers were coming to terms with the steep hike in Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) Nandini product prices in Karnataka, private dairy companies have delivered another blow by significantly increasing the prices of milk and curd, adding to the burden on household budgets.

While the KMF's Nandini price hike was expected to drive consumers towards private dairy brands in search of more affordable alternatives, several private players have now also revised their prices, leaving consumers with little relief. The sudden increases have particularly hit middle-class households.

Here is a look at the price revisions announced by various private dairy brands:

Mother Dairy: Prices have been uniformly increased by Rs 2.
Heritage Milk: The price has gone up by Rs 5.90 per litre, while the prices of different packet variants have increased by amounts ranging from Rs 2.50 to Rs 4.
Heritage Curd: The price has been increased by Rs 14 per kg.
Dodla Milk: The price has risen by Rs 6 per litre.
Dodla Curd: The price has gone up by Rs 12 per kg.
Other brands: Private dairy companies, including Tirumala and Hatsun, have also revised the prices of their milk and curd products.

Earlier, the state government and the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) had announced a hike in Nandini milk and curd prices, effective November 1. Milk prices were increased by Rs 8 to Rs 12 per litre, while curd became costlier by Rs 14 per litre.

Following the revision, the price of Nandini toned milk rose from Rs 46 to Rs 54 per litre, while curd prices increased from Rs 54 to Rs 68 per litre.

The steep increase triggered strong protests from members of the public and hotel owners. Following instructions from chief minister D K Shivakumar, the KMF subsequently agreed to reduce the price of Nandini curd by Rs 2 per litre. However, the reduction is yet to be implemented.

With private dairy companies also raising their prices, consumers are now facing a double blow, with even alternative milk and curd brands becoming more expensive.