Buffalo milk is set to get costlier across Mumbai from tomorrow, September 1. The Bombay Milk Producers’ Association has raised its wholesale rate by Rs 9 to Rs 102 a litre, and retail prices are likely
to climb to Rs 110-112, depending on the area, vendor and supplier. South Mumbai will pay the most.
The wholesale revision — from Rs 93 to Rs 102 a litre — will stay in effect until February 28, 2027, the association said.
Office-bearer C K Singh attributed the hike to rising input costs: prices of key cattle feed ingredients, including grain, tuvar chuni, chana chuni, corn and green fodder, have risen by up to 25% over the past year, alongside higher fuel, transport, labour and maintenance expenses.
Producing a litre of milk now costs Rs 98, he said, leaving little margin at the old rate. Around 40 lakh litres of buffalo milk move through Mumbai daily, and members approved the revision unanimously.
How Much More Will You Pay?
| Milk Type / Brand | Old Price | New Price | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Wholesale rate (Bombay Milk Producers’ Assn) |
Rs 93/litre | Rs 102/litre | Sept 1, 2026 |
| Tabela (loose) milk — South Mumbai retail | Rs 104/litre | Rs 112/litre | Sept 1, 2026 |
| Tabela (loose) milk — Rest of Mumbai retail | Rs 100/litre | Rs 110/litre | Sept 1, 2026 |
| Gokul (cooperative) buffalo milk pouch — Mumbai & Pune | Rs 76/litre | Rs 78/litre | Already in effect (August 2026) |
Retail rates aren’t uniform — they’ll vary by locality, vendor and supplier, and are typically higher in south Mumbai than in the north. The timing matters too: the hike lands just as festive-season demand for milk and dairy products picks up.
How Are Mumbaikars Reacting?
Reactions on X and Instagram moved quickly from complaint to comedy. One Instagram user joked that after sugar, even a cup of tea was becoming a luxury; another sarcastically asked if milk was now travelling via the Strait of Hormuz.
Alongside the jokes, plenty of household-budget frustration and a few switch-to-cow-milk suggestions surfaced too — Bhandup resident Dhanajay Pawar said the hike would strain his family’s budget, even though they prefer tabela milk for its taste.
Is This Part Of A Bigger Squeeze?
This isn’t Mumbai’s only recent dairy hike. Earlier this month, Maharashtra’s Gokul raised its buffalo milk retail price by Rs 2 a litre in Mumbai and Pune, and separately, the state approved a statewide Rs 2/litre increase for cow and buffalo milk following consultations with producers and processors — a revision distinct from Wednesday’s tabela-milk hike.
Sugar has added to the squeeze: TOI reported that retail sugar prices in parts of Mumbai jumped from Rs 50 to Rs 58 a kg within a week in August, with the Centre noting a roughly 15.6% national rise between July 20 and August 20, citing weak production, festive demand, weather damage and tighter global supply.
For households where milk and sugar both go into daily chai, a Rs 9 wholesale hike is landing on top of an already stretched budget.
