Milk Price Hike Forced 30% Households To Reduce Consumption Or Buy Cheaper Alternative: Survey

In most Indian households, milk, butter, ghee, and buttermilk are among the most consumed food items. India is not only the largest producer but also the largest consumer of milk and milk products, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Dairy and Products Annual 2021 report.

And this year's price hike of milk and milk products has forced many Indian households to either reduce the quantity of their purchase or switch to a cheaper alternative, a survey by community social media platform LocalCircles has shown, as per TOI.

Last month, leading milk suppliers Amul and Mother Dairy hiked milk prices by Rs 2 per litre with effect from August 17 on account of rising input costs. This was the second hike by them in nearly six months. At the beginning of March 2022, both of them had increased milk prices by Rs 2 per litre.

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Over 21,000 responses from households located in 311 districts of the country were received in the survey.

41% of respondents were from tier 1, 34% from tier 2 and 25% from tier 3, 4 and rural districts.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the survey: 68% of consumers said ¡°they were paying higher prices and buying same quantity and brand¡±, while 6% of respondents stated they have ¡°switched to a lower cost brand or local supply source¡±, and another 4% have switched to a cheaper alternative of the same brand that they had been buying earlier, and 20% respondents admitted to ¡°reducing the quantity that they purchase.¡±

Reason Behind Milk Price Hike

According to Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which is the food product marketing organization that manages Amul, the major reason behind the rise in prices of a mil is due to the steep increase in costs of energy, packaging, logistics and cattle feed that has led to an increase in the overall cost of operation and milk production.

¡°This price hike is being done due to an increase in the overall cost of operation and production of milk. The cattle feeding cost alone has increased to approximately 20% compared to last year. Considering the rise in input costs, our member unions have also increased farmers¡¯ prices in the range of 8-9% over previous year,¡± GCMMF had said in a statement while announcing price hikes in August 2022, the report mentioned.

Also Read: HUL Warns Of Further Price Hikes In India

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