The Cabinet of Ministers of Karnataka approved a price increase for Nandini milk by 8 rupees

The Cabinet of Ministers of Karnataka has supported the initiative to increase the price of Nandini milk by 8 rupees per liter. The exact price hike has not been announced yet due to the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct ahead of the Legislative Council elections. If this measure is fully implemented, the price of the blue packet of toned milk will rise from 46 to 54 rupees per liter.

Representatives of dairy farms and unions insisted on an increase of 8–10 rupees per liter, citing the rising costs of livestock animal feed, forage, veterinary drugs, processing, transportation, and packaging materials. Earlier, milk producers stated that due to drought, the amount of available forage had sharply decreased, which also led to higher costs. Over the past three months, the daily volume of KMF milk procurement has dropped from approximately 1.11 to 1.03 crore liters.

The rise in the cost of livestock animal feed has been particularly noticeable: according to Congress MPs, the price per bag of feed increased from 700–750 rupees to approximately 1,250 rupees, meaning by 67–79%. In addition, since the previous price revision, packaging costs have grown by 40%. This increase will be the fifth in recent years: prices were already raised in November 2022 (by 3 rupees), July 2023 (by 3 rupees), June 2024 (by 2 rupees), and March 2025 (by 4 rupees).

Dairy unions note that the procurement price in Karnataka remains lower than in neighboring southern regions. Toned milk is paid 35 rupees per liter here, whereas in Andhra Pradesh it is 41.50 rupees, in Kerala 41.80 rupees, in Maharashtra 41 rupees, and in Tamil Nadu 42.24 rupees. Against the backdrop of these difficulties, the financial results of Karnataka's 16 dairy unions remain mixed: between April and July, 11 unions recorded a combined profit of about 39.95 crore rupees, while five reported losses.