Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 9 (ANI): Milk prices in Maharashtra will increase by Rs 2 per litre for both cow and buffalo milk from Tuesday (August 11), following a decision taken by the Milk Producers and Processors Welfare Association.
The price hike is expected to affect consumers across the state as milk producers and processors revise the rates of both cow and buffalo milk. The decision comes amid continued discussions over milk pricing and measures to protect the interests of dairy farmers while also ensuring that consumers are not adversely affected by rising prices.
Meanwhile, last month, the government informed Parliament that there was no proposal to introduce a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for milk, adding that prices would continue to be determined by cooperatives and private dairies based on market conditions.
In a written reply to a starred question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh said milk prices are currently determined by cooperatives and private dairies, and there is no proposal to fix an MSP for the commodity.
The minister said the government is implementing several initiatives to protect the interests of dairy farmers, stabilise milk prices, safeguard consumer interests and strengthen quality monitoring across the country.
To bring more milk producers into the organised sector, the government said 36,283 new Dairy Cooperative Societies (DCS) had been established at the village level by March 2026, while 31,150 societies had been strengthened. It added that 168 lakh litres per day of milk chilling capacity had been created and 76,748 quality testing devices distributed. Projects with a total milk processing and value-addition capacity of 418 lakh litres per day have also been approved.
According to the government, India produced 248 million metric tonnes (MMT) of milk in 2024-25, up from 146 MMT in 2014-15, registering an increase of about 69 per cent. It attributed the growth to measures such as breed development, genetic improvement, free artificial insemination, sex-sorted semen and in-vitro fertilisation.
The government said 17.27 crore artificial inseminations have been carried out, increasing coverage from 20 per cent to 42 per cent and boosting milk productivity by 67 per cent. (ANI)
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