**Executive Summary**
This document is an answer given in response to an unstarred question in Lok Sabha (No. 376) regarding the profitability of the milk business for dairy farmers. The Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying addresses concerns about falling milk prices, production costs, and the inability to sell infertile cows. The response includes data on average milk procurement prices and outlines government schemes aimed at supporting dairy farmers. The question was to be answered on December 2, 2025.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Milk Prices and Taxes:**
* The average milk price has not fallen in the past five years and has been continuously increasing.
* Liquid milk is exempted from Goods and Service Tax (GST)/ excise duty.
* **Milk Procurement Prices (Rs./Litre):**
* Provides a table showing average milk procurement prices for Buffalo Milk (Fat-6% and SNF 9%) and Cow Milk (Fat-3.5% and SNF 8.5%) for the years 2021-22 to 2025-26. The prices have increased steadily year by year.
* **Milk Production:**
* Milk yields typically decrease after 4-5 months of lactation, which is a natural phenomenon.
* Cows-buffaloes in India produce milk up to the age of 10-12 years.
* **Cow Slaughter and Financial Hardship:**
* Preservation of animals is a matter on which the State legislature has exclusive powers to legislate
* **Government Intervention:**
* The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) does not regulate milk prices, which are decided by cooperatives and private dairies based on cost of production and market forces.
* DAHD is implementing several schemes to support the dairy sector:
* Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM)
* National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD)
* Supporting Dairy Cooperatives & Farmer Producer Organisations (SDCFPO)
* Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF)
* National Livestock Mission (NLM)
* Livestock Health and Disease Control Programme (LHDCP)
* These schemes aim to improve milk productivity, expand dairy cooperatives, strengthen dairy infrastructure, enhance feed availability, and provide animal health services, thereby reducing production costs and increasing income for milk producers.
**Impact Analysis**
**Dairy Farmers**
*Impact:* Addresses concerns about milk prices, production costs, and animal welfare, and provides government support to enhance their income.
*Action Required:* Familiarize themselves with the various government schemes available and utilize them to improve their productivity and income.
**State Governments**
*Impact:* Highlights their role in animal preservation and describes the DAHD schemes supporting their efforts.
*Action Required:* Continue implementing and complementing national schemes to support the dairy sector within their respective states.
**Milk Unions/Federations and Private Dairies**
*Impact:* Acknowledges their role in determining milk prices based on production costs and market forces.
*Action Required:* Continue to determine milk prices based on production costs and market forces.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying: The central ministry responsible for matters related to fisheries, animal husbandry, and dairying in India, answering the parliamentary question.
Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM): A scheme mentioned as a measure to improve milk productivity of bovines in India.
Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD): A department that does not regulate the milk prices in the country, but implements several schemes to complement the efforts made by the State Government.
Article 246(3) of the Constitution: A constitutional article regarding the legislative powers between the Union and the States, specifically the preservation of animals.
Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF): A scheme mentioned as a measure to improve milk productivity of bovines in India.
O.I.H
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING
DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 376
TO BE ANSWERED ON 2nd DECEMBER 2025
DAIRY FARMERS
376. SHRI BHAUSAHEB RAJARAM WAKCHAURE:
Will the Minister of FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING
मत्स्यपालन, पशुपालन और डेयरी मंत्री
be pleased to state:
(a) whether the milk business has been proving to be quite unprofitable for farmers during
the last few years, owing to the fact that the price of milk has fallen and Excise Taxes
have been steadily increasing;
(b) whether the cost of producing a litre of milk is 27 rupees, while the milk-producing farmer
earns only 18 to 22 rupees for a litre and while cows initially produce a good amount of
milk, their milk production decreases after a few months, and after 6 or 7 years, they stop
producing milk altogether;
(c) whether in such a situation, due to the ban on cow slaughter, farmers are unable to sell
infertile cows and are also unable to look after them, leading to financial hardship and if
so, the details thereof; and
(d) whether the Government has taken/proposes to take, any steps to provide guaranteed
prices to milk producers on the lines of the same being provided to farmers for sugarcane
and other crops and if so, the details thereof?
Answer
THE MINISTER FOR FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING
(SHRI RAJIV RANJAN SINGH ALIAS LALAN SINGH)
(a) and (b) The average price of milk has not fallen in the past five years and it has been
continuously increasing. Further, liquid milk is exempted from Goods and Service Tax
(GST)/ excise duty.
Average milk procurement price* (Rs./Litre)
Year Buffalo Milk (Fat-6% and SNF 9%) Cow Milk (Fat- 3.5% and SNF8.5%)
2021-22 39.8 29.4
2022-23 44.3 33.6
2023-24 46.5 35.2
2024-25 47.5 35.5
2025-26 49.2 36.7
*Source: Milk Unions/ Federations
Price is inclusive of subsidies provided by State Govts
During the course of a lactation, the milk yields typically decrease after 4-5 months of
lactation. It is a natural phenomenon. Further, on an average, cows-buffaloes in India
are producing milk up to the age of 10-12 years.(c) As per Article 246(3) of the Constitution, under the distribution of legislative powers
between the Union and the States, the preservation of animal is a matter on which the
State legislature has exclusive powers to legislate
(d) Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) does not regulate the milk
prices in the country. Milk Prices are decided by the cooperative and private dairies based
on their cost of production and market forces. However, DAHD is implementing the
following schemes across the country to complement and supplement the efforts made
by the State Government:
i. Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM)
ii. National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD)
iii. Supporting Dairy Cooperatives & Farmer Producer Organisations engaged in
dairy activities (SDCFPO)
iv. Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF)
v. National Livestock Mission (NLM)
vi. Livestock Health and Disease Control Programme (LHDCP)
These schemes are helping in improving milk productivity of bovines, expanding network of
dairy cooperatives, strengthening of dairy infrastructure, working capital requirement,
enhancing availability of feed and fodder and providing animal health services. These
interventions help to reduce the cost of milk production and also help to enhance income of
milk producer from dairy farming.
***