Curd, lassi and buttermilk get costlier by Rs 1-3 from today

Starting Monday, get ready to pay more for packaged curd, buttermilk and sweet lassi, courtesy of the 5 per cent GST announced last month.

The Karnataka Co-operative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited has increased the prices by Rs 1-3, a statement said on Sunday.

A one-kilo sachet of curd will now cost Rs 46, up from Rs 43 earlier. The prices of 500-gram and 200-gram sachets have been increased to Rs 24 and Rs 12, respectively, up from Rs 22 and Rs 10, respectively.

Various packets of the Nandini sweet lassi are dearer by up to Rs 2. The 200-ml sachet will now cost Rs 11, and two tetra packets of sweet lassi and mango lassi will cost Rs 21 and Rs 27, respectively. The prices of lassi in 200-ml PET bottles will be Rs 16 and Rs 21.

The rates of different buttermilk packets are up by Re one. The 200-ml sachet will now cost Rs 8, the tetra pack Rs 11 and the PET bottle Rs 13.

In a notification on July 13, the union government withdrew the GST exemption for “curd, lassi, buttermilk, pre-packaged and labelled” and levied a 5 per cent tax.

Even though ‘Nandini’ brand packaged dairy products are the cheapest in Karnataka, the tax will be an extra burden on consumers who are already badly hit by the increasing prices of other essential commodities. It is not going to help the dairy farmers in any way, said a consumer from Bengaluru.

Dairy farmers in Karnataka have been demanding a hike in milk procurement prices from Rs 34 to Rs 50 per litre to match the inflation, but the authorities have not taken any steps on that matter yet.