Buffalo milk at ₹100 per litre in Haryana! Farmers fix rate, cheap sellers face ₹21,000 penalty

Consumers in parts of Haryana could soon pay up to ₹100 per litre for buffalo milk after dairy farmers and operators in several districts announced a coordinated price hike, citing soaring input costs, according to a report by the Hindustan Times. Alongside the new rates, some local dairy associations have fixed penalties—up to ₹21,000—for anyone selling milk or ghee below the agreed prices.

Why farmers are pushing for ₹100/litre

Livestock owners believe that current procurement and retail rates—₹60–₹80 per litre for buffalo milk and ₹50–₹60 for cow milk—are no longer viable. “The cost of cattle feed has increased from ₹1,800 to ₹3,000. The price of wheat fodder has doubled to ₹1,000 per quintal,” Manoj Kumar, president of the Dairy Operators’ Association in Julana (Jind) said during a meeting where the new rates were ratified. Farmers also point to higher transport costs and stagnant procurement prices from cooperatives as key pressures.

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Buffalo Milk ₹100 Fair, Cow Milk ₹80 High

Richa Sharma, a researcher with the Supreme Court–appointed to the High Powered Committee on Agrarian Reforms, said ₹100 per litre for buffalo milk is reasonable, but ₹80 per litre for cow milk is a little high. “Based on input-cost studies, cow milk can be remunerative for farmers at ₹70 per kg,” she said.

Citing the Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households and Land and Livestock Holdings of Households in Rural India, 2019, she said that dairy farming poses significant economic challenges for livestock owners due to low prices. Her comments come as farmer bodies argue that without higher rates, many small and marginal livestock owners will exit dairying.

New rates and the ₹21,000 penalty

In Julana, the association fixed buffalo milk at ₹100/litre, cow milk at ₹80/litre, buffalo ghee at ₹1,500/kg and cow-milk ghee at ₹2,500/kg. It also announced that “anyone selling milk and milk products below the aforesaid prices will be fined ₹21,000,” a rule intended to ensure uniformity among local operators. Similar decisions have been reported in villages across Jind, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Rohtak and Hisar, with some groups saying the hike will take effect from September 4–5.

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What this means for consumers and cooperatives

If the move spreads, household budgets will feel the pinch as buffalo milk—widely used for tea, sweets and ghee—crosses the ₹100 mark in more towns. At the same time, farmer bodies have submitted memoranda to Vita cooperative plants, seeking a ₹2–₹3 per kg increase in raw milk procurement prices to reflect higher feed and fodder costs. While the ₹21,000 fine is an internal association decision and not a government order, local groups say they will enforce it through village-level committees to prevent under-cutting.