₹8 milk price hike to push tea, coffee prices up by ₹5

The prices of Nandini milk is set to go up by ₹8 per litre in Karnataka.

As milk prices are set to increase by ₹8 per litre from November 1, hotels and condiment stores have announced that tea and coffee prices will rise by ₹5.

Hotel associations have also indicated that the increase in milk prices would increase the cost of milk-based desserts.

Last time, the government increased the price of milk by ₹4 per litre in April 1, 2025. Previous to this hike, in June 2024, the prices of milk were increased by ₹2 per litre in proportion to additional 50 ml per 500 ml milk packets by the State government.

P.C. Rao, president, Bangalore Hotels’ Association, said, “For the first time in history, the government has increased the price of milk by ₹8 per litre. If it was increased to only ₹2 to ₹3 per litre, hotels and restaurants would not have increased the price of tea and coffee. Because of the drastic increase in the price of milk, we will discuss among all the hotels and increase the prices of tea and coffee accordingly.”

Meanwhile, G.K. Shetty, president, Karnataka State Hotels’ Association, said, “With increasing prices of all the commodities including milk, rice and others, we will hike prices of tea, coffee and other items by 5%. The prices of desserts like carrot halwa, payasam, badam milk and others will be increased which will be decided in a few days.”

At the same time, condiment stores across the State that sell tea and coffee have also decided to increase the price.

Ravi Shetty Byndoor, president, Karnataka Rajya Karmika Parishath (KRKP), said, “The KRKP has always fought for the rights of Karnataka bakeries and condiment stores. As a part of it, the condiment shop owners have decided to increase prices of tea and coffee by ₹5. At present, some shops sell tea and coffee for ₹12 and some sell it for ₹15. Now, they will sell it for ₹17 to ₹20 per cup.”

Pradeep Krishna, a resident of Jayanagar, expressed his displeasure over the price rise of milk. “We understand that farmers must be supported but an increase by ₹8 all of a sudden is definitely not fair to common man. They should have increased it by ₹3 to ₹4 per litre. All prices, including rent of house, are increasing except our salaries to meet the increasing expenses.”

Meanwhile, Madhu Iyengar, secretary, Karnataka Bakeries, Sweets and Cafe Association (KBSCA), said, “Considering that all the prices of commodities used by common man have increased, we will not increase the prices of sweets or any bakery items for now. There is also a lot of competition among various sweet and bakery shops. If one bakery and sweet shop owner will increase the price, they are likely to loose customers. In the current scenario, it is important to survive in the business hence, we will continue to function with the same prices.”

Mr. Iyengar also noted that profit margins for bakeries and sweet shops have already decreased by 10% to 12% as the prices of all the other commodities, especially sugar, have increased and would further decrease with increase in price of milk.