Ludhiana: Households across the city are bracing for an extra financial strain this festive season, as milk prices are scheduled to jump by ₹5 per litre effective November 1. This revision follows a consensus reached by operators from the major Haibowal and Tajpur dairy complexes. District Dairy Association President Kuldeep Singh Lahoria, alongside other key representatives, has officially verified the upcoming change.
Under the updated framework, the new rates will be enforced across all standard milk retail outlets. Furthermore, dairy vendors involved in cream trading will experience a 30-paise bump in fat rates. The association has formally requested all local businesses to implement these revised tariffs immediately.
Soaring Cattle Feed Expenses Fuel the Hike
Dairy professionals point directly to the relentless escalation in the cost of cattle feed and fodder as the primary catalyst for the price adjustment. The dramatic surge in prices for both dry and green fodder, oil cakes, and various commercial feed mixtures has severely squeezed profit margins, making day-to-day operations increasingly unsustainable.
Industry leaders emphasize that maintaining current pricing models is no longer viable, leaving many local dairies struggling just to stay afloat amidst mounting operational overheads.
Dramatic Spikes in Green Fodder and Wheat Straw
Describing the current climate as one of the most punishing eras for the local dairy sector in forty years, operator Rakesh Kumar highlighted the unprecedented cost of animal sustenance.
According to Kumar, green fodder that historically commanded a price of ₹80 to ₹90 per 40 kilograms has now skyrocketed to roughly ₹140. In parallel, wheat straw—locally recognized as toori—has surged from ₹250–₹300 up to approximately ₹400 per 40-kilogram bundle.
When combined with continuous inflation in oil cakes and supplementary feed products, these escalating inputs have created a severe financial bottleneck for producers.
The Broader Crisis Threatening Local Dairies
Kumar noted that the unbearable pressure of rising expenditures has already forced multiple local dairies to shutter permanently. He cautioned that without necessary price adjustments to offset skyrocketing production expenses, the viability of the entire regional industry remains at risk.
For dairy farmers and business owners, this price correction is viewed as an absolute necessity to guarantee basic survival and cover the escalating costs of cattle upkeep and milk extraction.
How Consumers Will Experience the Change
The upcoming ₹5-per-litre markup is bound to tighten household finances, particularly for families relying on daily deliveries. For instance, a home consuming a single litre daily will absorb an extra monthly expenditure of about ₹150.
While dairy proprietors maintain that the adjustment is unavoidable to survive the current economic climate, everyday consumers will soon need to recalibrate their monthly household budgets as the new pricing structure rolls out.
