Milk Price Surge: 4 in 10 Families Have Cut Down on Quantity or Switched to Alternatives, Survey Says

Frequent increase in prices of milk of different brands in the last one year has compelled many consumers, already struggling with household expenditure post Covid pandemic, have either reduced the consumption of milk or switched to cheaper alternatives, a survey shows.

According to a survey by LocalCircles, 19% families have cut down on the quantity consumption of milk after the latest increase in prices by brands such as Amul and Govardhan. The cumulative hike in prices of milk in the last one year has been more than Rs 12.

The major reason cited by the dairy sector is the steep increase in costs of energy both for operation and logistics, packaging and cattle feed and other overheads including labour costs.

When asked how they are coping with high milk prices, 59% of the 10,604 respondents indicated they are paying more and buying the same quantity of milk from their preferred brand.

While 16% said they have moved to cheaper brands, 3% indicated that they have stopped buying milk.

A comparative study of data shows a big jump in the percentage of households who have switched to cheaper alternatives of same brand in the last 12 months. In August 2022, only 4% made the switch while the percentage increased to four times to 16% in February 2023, maintaining brand loyalty but still feeling the pinch of price rise.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) 2021 report, India is not only the largest milk producer but also the largest consumer of milk and milk products. India’s per capita milk consumption at 406 grams (g)/day (2019-2020), already exceeds the world average of 305 g/day (2020), the USDA report states.

The survey received over 10,000 responses from citizens located in 303 districts of India. 64% respondents were men while 36% respondents were women. 45% respondents were from tier 1, 33% from tier 2 and 22% respondents were from tier 3, 4 and rural districts. The survey was conducted via LocalCircles platform and all participants were validated citizens who had to be registered with LocalCircles to participate in this survey.

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