New demand is in place for an increase in the price of Nandini milk in Karnataka, with BAMUL director Nagaraj asking the state government to increase the price by ₹10 per litre.
The BAMUL director told Asianet Suvarna News that he had given the government a three-day deadline to consider the demand, and farmers could organise a major protest if no decision is taken. Dairy producers are under pressure now because cows and milk production operations are getting expensive for milk producers.
As far as Nagaraj is concerned farmers are facing multiple problems, and one of them is a drought-like situation and cattle fodder shortages. The cost of cattle feed is also increasing, and the overall cost of dairy farming is rising. But the price of cattle feed and rubber mats for cattle flooring is rising, and farmers are finding it increasingly difficult to manage these costs while continuing to produce milk. His view is that dairy farming’s economic issues must be resolved and milk farmers need to have a better return in terms of their output to milk producers.
Nagaraj has also called for an increase in farmers' financial incentive. In addition to the proposed ₹10-per-litre increase in the consumer price of Nandini milk, he has asked for dairy farmers' incentive to go up to ₹8. He said consumers can absorb price increases in many essential goods and milk producers should be given the same opportunity. But this demand is still a wish, and any increase in the retail price of Nandini milk would be decided by the government and the dairy industry.
The issue is significant since Nandini is the dairy brand of Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) and BAMUL is the Bengaluru Cooperative Milk Producers' Societies Union. BAMUL has already revised the prices of other Nandini dairy products. In July 2026, for example, the Bengaluru milk union changed retail prices of Nandini ghee and butter, with the new rates taking effect on July 24. The new demand is solely on the price of Nandini milk, and is being portrayed as a step to improve the financial position of dairy farmers.
Nagaraj said that if the government does not respond within three days, farmers will organise a ‘Vidhana Soudha Chalo’ protest. That would entail bringing the issue directly to the state government's attention through a demonstration in Bengaluru.
The BAMUL director has maintained that the government should make any decision on any new milk price hike but insists that farmers' interests are at stake. The demand therefore puts pressure on consumers to pay more to milk producers and on how to balance consumer prices and milk production.
If the Nandini milk prices eventually rise in the future, consumers will pay a higher daily household cost, and if there are more procurement or incentive structures for dairy farmers, one could see additional support in their production costs. But as of now, no final decision on the proposed ₹10-per-litre increase has been made based on the information that has been given.
Hence, demand and the three-day deadline are still the central issues in the dairy-farmer economics debate in Karnataka, and the next step will be how the state government and the concerned dairy authorities respond to the proposal and how many of the dairy farmers will continue to protest in the future.
