Milk prices to remain firm: Amul MD RS Sodhi

Dairy major Amul feels prices will remain firm going forward due to increased pressure from energy logistics and packaging costs a top official said on TuesdayPrices will be firm I cant say by how much They cant go down from here can only go up Amul MD RS Sodhi told PTI when asked about his outlook on milk pricesThe cooperative has hiked prices by 8 per cent in the last two years including the Rs 2 hike in milk prices per litre last month Sodhi saidHeadline inflation is big worry policymakers are grappling with and the same is being blamed as one of the major reasons which have restricted growthenhancing measures like rate cuts The sixmember ratesetting panel of the RBI has started a bimonthly review meet from WednesdayStressing that inflation in his industry is not a cause for worry per se because the farmer is getting benefitted through higher prices for the produce Sodhi said the hikes by Amul and the broader dairy sector are very limited as compared to others or when compared to the rise in input costsHe said energy prices which impact cold storage expenses have gone up by over a third logistics costs are also up by a similar measure and the same is the case with packagingThere is an increase of Rs 120 per litre of milk because of these pressures he said stressing that farmers income per litre has also gone up by up to Rs 4 per litre during the pandemicThe cooperative has implemented technology interventions especially on supply chain management to reduce its costs Sodhi said adding that companies in the sector have seen a compression of profit margins because of such pressuresAmul is unfazed by such pressures because profit booking is not the core objective for the cooperative he said adding that 85 paise in every rupee booked as revenue goes to the farmerGlobal developments like the war in Ukraine are good for the Indian dairy sector Sodhi said pointing out that as the global supply chains get disrupted they help Indian exportsEven without the war the pandemicrelated disruptions alone helped Amuls export revenues grow by three times to over Rs 1400 crore in a single year he saidThe cooperative recorded a top line of Rs 61000 crore growing at 18 per cent Sodhi said attributing 3 per cent of it to price rise and the rest to volume growthHe said the cooperative will continue to invest as per its usual yearly rate of between Rs 8001000 crore in FY23 as wellAmul is gearing to enter the organic foods business and test running the same currently he said pointing out that it is interested in any activity which is allied to farming and agricultureThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever