The government of the state of Karnataka has raised milk prices to support farmers.

Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar explained that the decision is driven by a severe drought in the state, which has reduced production volumes and milk availability, while farmers began exporting produce to neighboring states where prices are higher. The price hike is also linked to rising costs for feed, labor, fuel, and packaging materials.

Of the total increase of 8 rupees per liter, 7 rupees will go directly to farmers, raising the procurement price from 35 to 42 rupees per liter. The remaining 1 rupee will go to milk cooperatives for operational expenses. Taking into account the state subsidy of 5 rupees, the total payments to producers will amount to 47 rupees per liter. According to the state leadership, this will allow a farmer supplying 10 liters of milk daily to receive an additional 2,100 rupees monthly, while the total annual income growth for dairy farms in the region will range from 1.85 billion to 2.1 billion rupees.

Karnataka has 28.84 million (referred to as 28.84 lakh in the text) dairy farmers, with 67 percent of KMF participants being small and marginal farmers. The authorities emphasize that the prices of Nandini products after the revision remain below the average rates in other regions: the price of Nandini toned milk will be 54 rupees per liter, and Nandini Shubham with a fat content of 4.5 percent will be 60 rupees per liter. The decision regarding the price of Nandini curd (an increase of 14 rupees per kg) was made by the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF).