Chennai, July 8 (IANS) Consumers across Tamil Nadu will have to pay more for milk and curd from Thursday, with private dairy companies set to increase retail prices by Rs 4 per litre from July 9.

The latest revision will be the second price hike by private dairies this year and comes amid rising procurement costs and a worsening shortage of raw milk.

The Tamil Nadu Milk Agents and Workers Welfare Association criticised the proposed increase but said the dairy sector was facing an unprecedented supply crisis due to declining milk production in several southern States.

According to the association, the failure of the summer rains has adversely affected milk production in Tamil Nadu, while output has also fallen in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

The shortage has intensified competition among private dairy companies to procure milk from farmers, forcing them to offer higher procurement prices and additional incentives.

The association alleged that many dairy farmers who had earlier supplied milk to the State-run Aavin had shifted to private companies because of the better prices being offered.

It claimed that Aavin’s daily milk procurement had fallen to around 25 lakh litres during the previous administration and was yet to recover to earlier levels, further tightening supplies in the market.

The organisation urged the Tamil Nadu government to introduce a scheme to provide free milch cows to farmers, arguing that such a measure would help increase milk production, improve rural incomes and stabilise the State’s milk supply in the long term.

Private dairy companies had earlier raised the retail prices of milk and curd by Rs 2 per litre in February, citing higher procurement costs. The association said the latest Rs 4 increase was necessitated by a further rise in input costs, including transportation expenses and the prices of packaging materials and other raw materials used in dairy production.

It also linked the increase in logistics costs to higher international crude oil prices following the conflict in West Asia.

One of the State’s leading private dairy brands, Arokya Milk, has informed its distributors and agents that the revised prices will come into effect from Thursday.

Industry observers expect other private dairy companies operating in Tamil Nadu to follow suit, adding to the financial burden on consumers.

–IANS

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