Amul hikes milk prices by Rs 2/ltr in Delhi & other major markets from tomorrow
New Delhi, May 20: Dairy major Amul said Monday it will increase milk prices by Rs 2 per litre in Delhi NCR, Maharashtra and other states from Tuesday due to an increase in production cost.
Milk prices were last revised two years back in March 2017, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which sells milk and milk products under the Amul brand, said in a statement.
The new price will come into effect from May 21 onwards and on all six brands being sold in major markets of Delhi-NCR, Gujarat, West Bengal, Kolkata, Uttaranchal, Maharashtra and other states, the GCMMF said in a statement.
The revised price of 500 millilitre (ml) pack of 'Amul Gold' in Ahmedabad will be Rs 27, 'Amul Shakti' at Rs 25, 'Amul Taaza' at Rs 21 and 'Amul Diamond' at Rs 28, it said.
There has been no change in cow milk prices in Gujarat, the cooperative added.
"This increase in milk prices by Rs 2 per litre has happened after a gap of two years with an aim to provide remunerative milk purchase price to our milk producers owing to drop in milk production and increase in cost of production," GCMMF said.
Considering the increase in the cost of milk production, all member milk unions of Gujarat have increased milk purchase price by a minimum of Rs 30-50 per kg fat (5-8 per cent) over the last few months, it said.
This will motivate milk producers to keep inducting new animals and to keep producing milk and support their livelihood, it added.
Stating that national and international dairy markets have witnessed adverse conditions in the last two years, GCMMF said there has been a steep decline in the prices of commodities such as skimmed milk produce (SMP) and butter oil. This has resulted in a decline in producer prices of milk across India, leading to adverse impact on milk producers.
"However, the milk cooperatives of Gujarat continued to pay remunerative prices of milk to its producers and the average final price of milk paid to our producers has increased to Rs 710 per kg fat in 2017-18 to Rs 730 per kg fat in 2018-19," it said.
Unfortunately over the last one year, GCMMF said, there has been a major increase in prices of major cattle feed ingredients such as de-oiled rice bran by 61 per cent, rice polish fine by 22 per cent, molasses by 82 per cent, maize by 63 per cent etc, which has resulted in increase in the cattle feed price by over 15 per cent.
Similarly, the rate green fodder has seen hike of more than 100 per cent in this summer.
Amul, as a cooperative, passes on almost 80 paise of every rupee paid by consumers to the milk producers, the cooperative added.
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UDF leaders see local body poll trends as pointer to 2026 Assembly elections in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Buoyed by the strong performance of the Congress-led UDF in the local body polls, KPCC president Sunny Joseph said on Saturday that the front's results indicated the people had rejected the LDF government.
According to early trends, the UDF was leading in more grama panchayats, block panchayats, municipalities and corporations than the LDF.
The local body polls were held in two phases in the state earlier this week.
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Speaking to reporters here, Joseph said the people of Kerala had extended their support to the UDF.
"We could expose the LDF government’s anti-people stance and the people understood it. The LDF’s fake propaganda was rejected by the people. The UDF is moving towards a historic victory," he said.
He said a united effort, proper preparations, good candidate selection and hard work had resulted in the Congress and the UDF’s victory in the elections.
Asked about the prospects in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Joseph said the party was studying the matter and would comment later.
LDF convenor T P Ramakrishnan said the results would be closely examined.
According to him, the government had done everything possible for the people.
"Why such a verdict happened will be examined at the micro level. People’s opinion will be considered and further steps will be taken," he said.
He added that decisions would be taken after analysing the results. "If any corrective measures are required, we will initiate them and move forward," he said.
AICC leader K C Venugopal said the results showed that people had begun ousting those who, he alleged, were responsible for the loss of gold at Lord Ayyappa’s temple.
"This trend will continue in the Assembly elections as well. It is an indication that the people are ready to bring down the LDF government," he said.
Venugopal said the UDF had registered victories even in CPI(M) and LDF strongholds.
"I congratulate all UDF workers for their hard work. Congress workers and leaders worked unitedly," he said.
Referring to remarks made by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan against the Congress on polling day, Venugopal said the voters had responded through the verdict.
"I do not know whether the chief minister understands that the people are against him. Otherwise, he does not know the sentiment of the people. The state government cannot move an inch further," he said.
He said the results indicated a strong comeback for the UDF in Kerala.
Asked whether the Sabarimala gold loss issue had affected the LDF in the local polls, Venugopal said the CM and the CPI(M) state secretary did not take the issue seriously.
"We took a strong stand on the matter. The BJP played a foul game in it," he alleged.
On the BJP's role in the local body elections, Venugopal alleged that the party operated with the CPI(M) 's tacit support.
"The CPI(M) supported the central government on issues such as PM-SHRI, labour codes and corruption in national highway construction. The CPI(M) is facing ideological decline, and the state government’s policies are against the party’s own decisions," he said.
Meanwhile, LDF ally Kerala Congress (M) leader Jose K Mani said the party could not win all the wards it had expected in the elections.
He congratulated winners from all parties and said the party would closely examine the losses and identify shortcomings. "Later, we will take corrective measures," he added.
Senior Congress leader and MP Rajmohan Unnithan said the trends in the local body elections indicated that the UDF would return to power in the 2026 Assembly elections.
"We will win 111 seats as in 1977 and return to power in 2026. The anti-government sentiment of the people is reflected in the elections," he said.
Unnithan said the people were disturbed and unhappy with the present government.
"The trend indicates the end of the LDF government," he added.
CPI(M) MLA M M Mani said the people had shown ingratitude towards the LDF despite benefiting from welfare schemes.
"After receiving all welfare schemes and living comfortably, people voted against us due to some temporary sentiments. Is that not ingratitude," he asked.
Mani said no such welfare initiatives had taken place in Kerala earlier.
"People are receiving pensions and have enough to eat. Even after getting all this, they voted against us. This is what can be called ingratitude," he said.
Muslim League state president Panakkad Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal said the results were beyond expectations.
"The outcome points towards the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, indicating that a change of government is imminent. We are going to win the Assembly election," he said.
