Private dairy companies have increased the retail prices of milk and curd across Tamil Nadu for the second time in seven months, raising prices by ₹2 to ₹4 per litre and taking the cumulative increase to as much as ₹6 per litre since July. The latest revision, effective from July 26, covers major brands including Tirumala, Srinivasa, Vallabha, Jersey, Heritage and Dodla, following earlier price hikes by Arokya on July 9 and Tamil Nadu-based brands such as Amirthaa, Veda, Sun, Raj and Chakra from July 21, meaning nearly all leading private dairies have now revised prices.
According to the Tamil Nadu Milk Dealers’ Welfare Association, the hikes have been driven by an acute shortage of milk production in Tamil Nadu and neighbouring states, which has intensified competition for milk procurement, forcing companies to offer higher procurement prices and additional incentives to farmers while facing rising raw material and operational costs.
The association, however, criticised private dairies for not increasing dealer commissions despite higher fuel, transportation, rental, maintenance, wage and digital transaction expenses, and called for a percentage-based commission model with separate incentives for digital payments.
The latest increase is expected to widen the price gap between private brands and Aavin, which remains nearly ₹20 per litre cheaper in several categories, likely shifting more lower- and middle-income consumers towards the state-run dairy. Industry representatives warned that unless the Tamil Nadu government takes immediate steps to increase milk production and strengthen Aavin’s procurement network, aggressive competition for milk supplies and repeated retail price hikes are likely to continue. (DT Next)
Source: Dairynews7x7 29 July, 2026 Read full story here
#TamilNaduDairy #MilkPriceHike #DairyIndustry #MilkProcurement #Aavin #FoodInflation #DairyNews7x7