BY MADHU AGRAWAL / NEW DELHI
RECENTLY a reputed milk brand Nova vigorously advertising for sale of full-cream milk now at much reduced price of just rupees 45 per litre instead of earlier rupees 51 per litre. Only a few months back, a new brand Namaste India made an alarming entry in marketing of packaged milk with very huge advertisement and sale-promotion expenses including providing free packs of milk on some initial quantity. Otherwise also heavy advertisement-expenses are being done for branded milk marketed by famous giants of co-operative sector like Mother Dairy and Amul. Patanjali has already made entry for cow-milk being sold at rupees 20 per half-litre pack as compared to rupees 21 by Mother Dairy.
All this leads to doubt about extra-ordinary profit-margin on essential item of milk. There are also talks about supply of branded milk by different companies that they are supplying packaged milk by processing of imported milk-powder.
Union Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Department of Consumer Affairs and other concerned ministries and departments of Government of India should study of milk-marketing in a manner that benefit of competition, advertisement and sale-promotion expenses may be passed on to consumers by reduction in price of packaged milk. Companies should also compulsorily print prominently on milk-packs if prepared from milk-powder.
Since some popular brands have started gimmick packaging of 400 milli-litres also to look like half-litre pack, milk should be allowed to be packed only in packs of half, two and five litres pack abolishing unpopular packs of one and six litres.
Writer is Guinness Record Holder for letters in newspapers