Dairy farmers, retailers lock horns over price hike

Milk sellers caught between farmers' raised prices, govt action against increased rates

HYDERABAD:

Although the bid to increase the retail price of milk in Hyderabad has been scuttled by the district administration, a tug of war has erupted between dairy farmers and retailers.

The former hiked the price of milk on July 11 and the latter followed suit, charging customers around Rs110 to Rs115 for a litre, which had previously cost Rs100 per litre while the official price is Rs96 per litre.

The unauthorised price hike, though, prompted a backlash from the district administration, with officials fining sellers charging anything more than the government's fixed price.

"We are now selling milk for Rs100 per litre but we cannot sustain it much longer. The cattle farmers began billing us Rs104 per litre from July 11," said Nasir Ghouri, the general secretary of the Milk Seller Welfare Association.

The dairy farmers previously charged Rs88 per litre, with retailers adding Rs8 to Rs10 as their profit and cost of business.

But now, according to Ghouri, the farmers are threatening to suspend the supply of milk to retailers if they are not paid at the increased rates. "If this happens, Hyderabad's milk shops will begin to shut down," he warned.

He explained that while the retailers were complying with the district administration's directives, the cattle farmers are adamant about the price hike. He added that the administration has called a meeting to settle the issue on Monday (today).

Meanwhile, Hyderabad Dairy and Cattle Farmers' Association spokesperson Muhammad Amir said they had reiterated time and again that they would not back down from the increased price. "We raised the price twice in the recent past but each time, local authorities forced us to stick to the old rate," he complained. "We increased it due to inflation, but the government appears indifferent to our financial worries."

Published in The Express Tribune, July 20^th, 2020.