Karnataka: Nandini milk products to cost Rs 2 more from today

BENGALURU: Effective Wednesday, Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) has increased prices of all its Nandini milk variants by ₹2 per sachet, but said the pouches will contain an additional 50ml of the product.
The one-litre toned milk sachets that cost ₹42 will now cost ₹44, but contain 1050ml of the product. The half-litre packet price goes up from ₹22 to ₹24 with 50ml extra milk.

KMF chairman Bheema Naik Tuesday made the announcement regarding the revision of prices.Nandini milk prices have been revised twice in a year. In July 2023, the milk price had been increased by ₹3 per litre.
Price hike a 'temporary' phenomenon: KMF MD
In his first reaction to the hike in milk prices, CM Siddaramaiah said he was not aware, and the govt has no role in the price revision of milk. Later in the day, he defended the hike in a post on X.
The CM said KMF has increased the volume per packet with a proportionate increase in price. "Half-litre milk packets will be replaced with 550ml packets, and one-litre packets will be replaced with 1,050ml milk packets," he said. The CM mentioned that compared with last year, milk production in the state had increased by 15%. Last year, the average milk production was 90 lakh litres per day, whereas this year, it has been increased to 99 lakh litres.
"To accommodate this surplus production and ensure farmers are not turned away, KMF has decided to increase the milk content in each packet by 50ml," he added.
KMF MD MK Jagadish told TOI the price hike is a 'temporary' phenomenon. "There has been a substantial supply of milk from farmers in the past 15 years. Even after using milk for various other products under the Nandini brand and supplying milk to neighboring states, there is a surplus which can't be stored," he said, adding that compared to other states, the prices of Nandini milk are cheaper.
BJP's R Ashok said poor and middle-income group people are already suffering because of the hike in diesel and petrol prices. "By hiking milk prices, the state government has only rubbed salt in their wounds," he said.
Idli, dosa batter soon
KMF is planning to launch Nandini idli and batter in the next two months, riding piggyback on its huge sale network in the state.
Jagadish said they already have 160-plus products in the market, and a consumer buying milk, curd or bread will naturally look for idli and dosa batter. "We are finalizing the tender process for a co-packer. Though there are already private players, we have advantages that others do not have. The batter price will likely be on par with that of similar products available in the market," the MD said.