Punjab Government Raises Milk Procurement Prices to Support Dairy Farmers

The Punjab government has announced a significant increase in milk procurement prices for farmers associated with Milkfed Punjab (Verka), providing relief to dairy producers across the state. According to the announcement, the procurement rate of milk has been increased by ₹15 per kilogram of fat, with the revised rates coming into effect from April 1, 2026. The move aims to support dairy farmers facing rising costs of cattle feed and other operational expenses. As per Milkfed, the earlier procurement rate for cow milk was approximately ₹770–780 per kilogram of fat, which has now been revised to ₹780–795 per kilogram of fat. Similarly, the procurement rate for buffalo milk has been increased from around ₹810–820 per kilogram of fat to ₹820–835 per kilogram of fat. The government stated that the decision was taken after considering the increasing cost of production and to ensure better returns for farmers. The revision is expected to directly benefit nearly 2.5 lakh dairy farmers in Punjab, while also impacting lakhs of other milk producers indirectly. Milkfed further clarified that the price increase has been applied equally to both cow and buffalo milk. However, the final payment to farmers will continue to depend on the fat percentage in the milk, which may result in slight variations in earnings among individual producers.