Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar has asked the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) to reconsider its Rs 14-a-litre increase in curd prices, acknowledging public anger over the higher cost while ruling out a rollback of the recent milk price rise.
Curd prices increased from Rs 54 to Rs 68 per litre after the state government raised milk prices by Rs 8. The price of a 500 ml packet has consequently risen from Rs 28 to Rs 34. The increase has drawn opposition from consumers and hoteliers, who use milk and curd as daily inputs.
“I have asked KMF to reconsider as it is becoming too expensive for the public. They will look into it,” Shivakumar said on Monday, according to the Times of India. His intervention places the state’s dairy cooperative under pressure to reassess the curd pricing decision even as the government maintains that the milk price increase should continue.
The chief minister defended the milk hike by linking it to higher fuel costs and their effect on dairy farmers. “The hike in fuel prices has had a cascading effect on dairy farmers. I admit that there is anger among people,” he said. Shivakumar also argued that the government had discussed the milk price increase in detail before arriving at its decision.
The price change has implications beyond retail household purchases. Hotels and food businesses depend on milk and curd as routine inputs, while consumers buy them as everyday staples. A higher curd price therefore adds to operating costs for businesses and recurring food expenditure for households, although the government has not announced any separate relief measure in the statement reported by the newspaper.
Shivakumar’s comments also came as the state’s transport corporations consider a possible increase in bus fares. He said the government was providing special grants to operate state buses, but added that, given the financial situation, the transport corporations had been allowed to decide on pricing.
For now, the milk price increase remains in force. The immediate pending decision is whether KMF will reconsider the curd rates following the chief minister’s request.
