A DDC board meeting on Tuesday took such a decision, considering farmers’ demand.

The farmers had been demanding a hike in the price by Rs 12 per litre, citing rising costs of fodder, animal feed and labour, according to DDC.

With the latest price revision, a green packet of DDC milk will cost Rs 40 (up from Rs 35) per packet. The milk available in red packet will cost Rs 36 (up from Rs 32). And, a blue packet will cost Rs 32 (up from Rs 28). The state-owned DDC had last jacked up the price in May.

“The price hike was inevitable amid mounting pressure from farmers,” said Ganga Timilsina, general manager of DDC. “Farmers had been planning to launch a protest.”  

Pradeep Maharjan, president of Dairy Industries Association of Nepal, said private dairies would also increase the price as they have to pay the same rates to the farmers. The DDC, however, said it would not hike prices of other dairy products  immediately.

“As demand for other milk products such as yogurt and ice-cream is lower during winter, we are not planning to raise their prices immediately. The prices will, however, be revised with the arrival of summer, when the demand surges,” said Timilsina, adding 69 percent of the hiked price will go to farmers.

Three weeks ago, the Central Dairy Cooperatives’ Association, an umbrella organisation of milk farmers, had submitted a memorandum to the Ministry of Agricultural Development and the National Dairy Development Board demanding a hike in milk prices.