Udupi district unit of Sahakara Bharati, a non-government organisation of cooperatives, has urged the State government to increase the procurement price of milk from ₹35 per litre to ₹40 a litre.
Speaking to presspersons in Udupi on Tuesday, Bola Sadashiva Shetty, president of the unit, said that dairy farmers in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts sold milk to Dakshina Kannada Cooperative Milk Union Ltd. through 734 milk producers cooperative societies. The present procurement price of the union is not attractive.
Mr. Shetty said that dairy farmers will protest against the government if the latter did not hike the procurement price by Deepavali.
Dairy farmers have been demanding a price hike for the last six months. ‘‘The rising production cost due to increase in the price of cattle feed has compelled dairy farmers to demand more price,” he said.
One of the directors of the union Sanoor Narasimha Kamath also urged the State government to increase the procurement price by ₹5 a litre.