Amul Milk Price Will Rise Or Not? Here's What MD Jayen S Mehta Said

Amul Price Update: In a big festive cheer to consumers, Amul Milk has said that it is not expecting any price hike this time due to the timely monsoon in Gujarat.

According to news agency PTI, GCMMF Managing Director Jayen S Mehta said on Wednesday that Amul does not anticipate any price hike as the situation is "pretty" good this year after timely monsoon rains in Gujarat and flush milk procurement season is starting. The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) sells its dairy products under the popular Amul brand.

The news has come as a big relief to consumers as multiple forecasts earlier this year had forecasted elevated milk prices until the festive season, owing to a rise in fodder prices and a decline in milk production owing to lumpy skin disease. Noticeably, timely monsoons considerably relieve the pressure on dairy producers by keeping feed and fodder costs under control.

Mehta was quoted by PTI as saying, "The situation is pretty good this year because of timely monsoon in Gujarat at least which means the pressure on producers for the feed and fodder cost is not high, and we are entering the flush season of milk procurement, so we are not anticipating any hike."

Commenting on the investment plans, Mehta said that they are investing nearly Rs 3,000 crore every year and that is going to be there for the next several years. He said, ""...with an increase in milk procurement and processing facilities also need expansion, we will be announcing a new dairy plant at Rajkot...with a capacity of more than 20 lakh liters per day, and a new packaging and processing units also there."

FTA In the Dairy Sector:

Responding to whether demand by the European Union (EU) for import duty concessions in the dairy sector under free trade agreements (FTAs), Mehta said that milk is a source of livelihood for more than 10 crore families in the country and most of the producers are small and marginal farmers and if the developed countries want to dump their surpluses into our country, it becomes a problem for our farmers. He said that the government also understood this and that is why the dairy sector has been kept out of all FTAs.

Amul Milk Price Hike So Far:

Currently, one liter of Amul Gold full cream milk costs Rs 66. The company has increased milk prices by almost Rs 8/litre in the 12 months ending February 2023.

In August, the dairy raised milk procurement prices by Rs 30 to Rs 850 per kilo fat. However, this did not raise prices for consumers.