KARACHI: Manufac­turers have increased the prices of various milk products including baby formula.

The rate of one litre tetra milk pack has been raised to Rs250 effective Feb 20 from Rs230 while it was available at Rs220 in October 2022.

A retailer said that the company raised Nido 1 plus 900-gram and 375- gram rates to Rs1,780 and Rs770 as compared to Rs1,360 and Rs640, while 800-gram and 375-gram of Nido 3 plus now carry a price tag of Rs1,610 and Rs780 as against Rs1,490 and Rs720.

Lactogen I 200-gram and 400-gram packs are now available at Rs1,450 and Rs990 as compared to Rs460 and Rs860. The new rates of 200gm, 400gm and 800gm for Lactogen 2 and 3 are Rs500, Rs990 and Rs1,970.

Nan 1 Optipro rates have been increased to Rs2,050 (400-gram) and Rs4,445 (900-gram).

Nido School Age 900-gram, 650-gram and 390-gram packs are now available at Rs1,470, Rs1,100 and Rs680 as compared to Rs1,300, Rs820 and Rs560.

Milo 300-gram pack price has been increased to Rs670 from Rs550.

Nido 1 and Nido 3 tins (1,800 grams) are now priced at Rs5,900.

An official of Nestle Pakistan Ltd (NPL) linked the price hike to a high inflationary environment as the exchange rate is impacting everything. He added that milk procurement price is too expensive because of high feed cost, while fuel cost and packaging materials are also high.

Retailers and departmental stores usually sell branded milk products at slightly lower rates depending on their sales and stock position.

NPL sales surged 20pc to Rs121bn during January to September 2022 from Rs100bn in the same period last year due to strong demand and new product launches.

The company’s net profit after tax soared to Rs11.4bn from Rs9bn, up by 25pc. Operating profit improved by 37pc to Rs21.5bn from Rs15.6bn as a result of sales growth, favourable product mix and tighter control on fixed cost.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2023