Bhubaneswar: Amid recent surges in the price of several food items, now milk will become dearer in Odisha, come Oct 4.Odisha State Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation (Omfed) have revised the retail prices of its milk pouches across the state, leading consumers to now pay more from Oct 4. The retail price revision comes after the Odisha govt increased the milk procurement price by Rs 2 per litre on Sept 8 to support dairy farmers. This was the second hike after the govt had earlier raised the procurement price by Re 1 per litre in May.According to Omfed sources, the maximum retail price of toned milk has been raised from Rs 54 to Rs 58 per litre. Premium milk will now cost Rs 60 per litre, up from Rs 58/litre. Gold milk has been priced at Rs 62 per litre and Gold Plus at Rs 66 per litre, with both varieties becoming costlier by Rs 2 per litre.The revised prices for 500 ml pouches are Rs 29 for toned milk, Rs 30 for the premium variety, Rs 31 for Gold and Rs 33 for Gold Plus.“The latest revision supersedes all previous office orders on milk pricing. The revised rates will come into force across the state from Oct 4,” Omfed said in an official notification issued on Thursday.The Omfed hike is expected to push up prices at tea and coffee stalls, besides milk-based products such as paneer, curd, cheese and ghee.Tophan Mahabhoi, a tea shop owner at Patia in Bhubaneswar, said he would be forced to raise the price. “Sugar prices have also increased recently, and toned milk will become costlier by Rs 4 per litre. There is no option but to increase the price of a cup of tea,” he said.Fisheries and animal resources development minister Gokulananda Mallik had earlier said the rise in milk procurement prices was linked to increasing costs of feed, fodder, medicines and livestock maintenance.Omfed procures around 7 lakh litres of milk daily from more than 3.2 lakh dairy farmers. The federation has also announced changes in its promotional schemes for channel partners while retaining the provision for replacement of leaky or defective milk pouches.
