Karnataka Milk Unions Demand ₹8 Price Increase and Higher Incentives

Representatives of all 16 district milk producers’ unions announced the deadline at a joint press conference in Bengaluru, according to Udayavani. Those present included P. Nagaraju, a former chairman of the Bengaluru Milk Union, or BAMUL. The unions said that thousands of dairy farmers would march to the state legislature if the requested measures were not adopted within three days.

The unions are seeking an ₹8-per-litre increase in the consumer price of liquid milk. They also want the state’s payment to producers raised by ₹3, from ₹5 to ₹8 per litre. The demands concern both the price paid by consumers and the incentive received by milk producers through the cooperative system.

Daily milk collection across the Karnataka Milk Federation network has fallen from a peak of about 11.1m litres to between 10.5m and 10.6m litres, the directors said. They reported that demand for liquid milk and value-added dairy products continued to increase while procurement declined.

The representatives attributed the pressure on dairy farms to drought and higher input costs. Karnataka has recorded an estimated 70% shortfall in rainfall, with lower water availability and shortages of dry and green fodder in several areas. Prices of maize, bran and molasses used in cattle feed have risen by about 25%. Veterinary medicines, industrial processing materials and aseptic packaging films have become about 30% more expensive.

Cooperatives have also faced higher fuel, liquefied petroleum gas and refrigerated-transport costs, which the directors linked to tensions in the Middle East. They said salary changes introduced under the Seventh Pay Commission had added to the operating costs of milk unions.

Union leaders said Karnataka’s producer prices were about ₹10 per litre below those in neighbouring southern states, particularly Tamil Nadu. They reported that some farmers were sending milk to buyers in other states that offered immediate cash payments, reducing supplies available to the cooperatives. The leaders said they had held discussions with the state authorities for eight months without reaching an agreement and called for the price gap to be addressed.

The unions’ announcement comes before the state government’s decision on whether to convene the requested emergency Cabinet meeting. Their proposed march is named “Vidhana Soudha Chalo”, referring to the Karnataka legislature building in Bengaluru.