Chennai, Nov 2 (IANS): Tamil Nadu's cooperative milk supplier Aavin has recommended increasing its retail milk prices by Rs 5 per litre, citing financial pressure on its operations and difficulties faced by milk outlet operators. The proposed revision will take effect only if the state government approves it, IANS reported.

Source: IANS via AsiaPost

According to Aavin sources cited by IANS, Rs 4 from the proposed increase would go to the cooperative, while the remaining Re 1 would benefit outlet operators. The recommendation seeks to improve the operators' financial viability amid rising operating expenses; a separate report on the proposal noted that booth operators currently receive only 75 paise as commission for each milk packet.

Aavin procures around 35 lakh litres of milk every day through its network, while sales in Chennai alone account for approximately 15 lakh litres daily, IANS reported. Because Aavin supplies households across Tamil Nadu, any approved revision would be felt in daily budgets across the state.

Source: Urban Acres, citing Dinamalar

The sources also cited Karnataka's recent milk price increases of up to Rs 8 per litre, saying the revision recommended for Tamil Nadu was lower. Reports on current Aavin packet prices said the 500-millilitre orange packet is priced at Rs 30, while the green and violet packets are priced at Rs 24 and the blue packet at Rs 20; a per-litre increase would affect consumers differently depending on the product and pack size eventually covered by the government's decision.

For now, the Rs 5 increase remains only a proposal. Existing retail prices continue to apply pending the state government's approval, and the reports did not specify when the government will decide or whether the increase would apply uniformly across all Aavin milk varieties.