Firms vie for space in Hyderabad’s milk market

Hyderabad: A milk war seems to be in the offing in Hyderabad with the number of competitors increasing. This year has seen three new entrants in the dairy market. Hyderabad consumes 25 lakh litres of milk everyday, of which, nearly 18 lakh is supplied by the organised sector and the rest by individual milkmen.

About 12 lakh litres is supplied by major brands which include Vijaya, Heritage, Dodla, Jersey, Tirumala, Amul, Mother Dairy and Nandini. Vijaya tops the list with nearly 5 lakh litres of milk being sold every day in the city. Even in this crowded market, more milk suppliers are needed.

A senior official of the animal husbandry department, said, “The number of dairy farmers in and around Hyderabad is going down and so is the milk production. As a combined effect of this, and the rise in the number of well to do people in the city, the demand-supply gap is widening. In some areas of the city, milk is sold by individual milkmen for Rs 75 per litre. If more dairy brands enter the city’s market then people will have the option to buy milk for a lesser price. This is why the Telangana government is welcoming out-of-state dairy producers into Hyderabad’s market like Amul from Gujarat and Nandini of the  Karnataka Milk Federation.”

Recently, the Karimnagar Milk Producers Company Limited announced its entry into the Hyderabad market. It aims to sell one lakh litres of milk in the city. The price of toned milk ranges between Rs 38 and Rs 45, and from Rs 50 to Rs 60 for full cream, depending on the company.

The price of milk is not controlled by any government authority and individual companies price milk as per the fat content in it.

Even though demand for milk is set to rise, producers feel that Hyderabad is a tough market as city folks are brand conscious and it is challenging to establish brand image and create new inroads in the city.

Milk cooperative societies rule out any fall in milk prices in the near future as poor rainfall this year has resulted in an increase in the input costs of dairy farmers.