Aavin premium increased to Rs.60

The Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation (TNCMPF), which owns Aavin brand, has  increased the cover price of premium milk – milk comes in orange-coloured packets by Rs 12 per litre. While Aavin card holders would continue to get one-litre premium milk at Rs 46, the hike in price would only affect those who buy milk from retail outlets and  Aavin stores as from Friday,  they will have to pay Rs 60 per packet,  according to a statement from Aavin.

The announcement regarding the price revision comes a day after TNCMPF increased the milk procurement prices by Rs 3 per litre to benefit the dairy farmers. The hike in milk procurement price would benefit over 4.20 lakh dairy farmers attached to 9,345 primary cooperative societies. Now, a litre of cow milk  would be produced at a price of Rs 35 and buffalo milk at Rs 44. 

The last time the milk procurement price revision was made in August 2019. The statement said that the price hike had become inevitable as they have to take care of the additional expenditures incurred towards milk procurement.   Even after the price revision, the statement said that Aavin milk is sold at least Rs 10 less than the private milk packets in the retail market. 

The management has made no changes in retail prices of toned milk – milk comes in blue-coloured packets – and standardized milk – the one comes in green-coloured packets. Aavin has been procuring about 40 lakh litre of milk from dairy farmers and selling about 30 lakh litres to customers in a day. PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss said that the price rise would affect the poor people even as he  welcomed the government’s move of not increasing the price of other milk products.

Milk price rise will not affect public, says minister Nasar

The state dairy minister SM Nasar on Friday said that the hike in milk price would not affect the public.
Speaking to reporters at the Secretariat in Chennai, he said, “The Chief Minister has increased the price of cow milk procurement price from Rs 32 to Rs 35 and buffalo milk from Rs 41 to Rs 44 after considering the welfare of the dairy farmers in the state. The resultant price rise will not affect the public as the government has increased only the price of premium milk.”

The premium milk, which was earlier sold at the cost of Rs 48 per litre by Aavin, has been sold for Rs 70 per litre by other government agencies and private milk manufacturers, he said and added that even after the price revision, the price of the premium milk is sold at least Rs 10 lesser than other states including the BJP-ruling Gujarat.

Pointing out that 11 lakh people are purchasing premium milk from Aavin in the state, he said that the price revision would be applicable only for those who purchase it from retail outlets and Aavin stores and not for the Aavin card holders. The price revision has become inevitable as the cost of the milk procurement has increased due to several factors including GST, he added.