HYDERABAD, Sept 1: Milk sellers continue to sell milk to consumers at Rs40 and 42 per litre in the city in violation of the official rate of Rs35 per litre.

The official prices of different edibles and milk were fixed by the DCO at a meeting on Aug 30 according to which wholesale price of milk had been fixed at Rs33 per litre and retail at Rs35 per litre.

Retail milk sellers, who had earlier cautioned the district government through a press conference about expected rise in price of milk, always blame dairy farmers for raise in prices.

According to them dairy farmers and commission agents have increased per litre price by Rs1.50 since Aug 1, forcing them to sell milk at Rs40 to Rs42 per litre instead of existing Rs38 per litre price.

Retailers Milk Sellers and Welfare Association president Faheemuddin Sheikh said that in fact dairy farmers should be forced to curtail per litre wholesale price of milk, which would automatically bring down prices at consumer end.

“We are now getting per litre milk at Rs36.50 which brings 40 litres cost to Rs1,460 and then we have to add overhead expenses on our part on different counts,” he said.

He said that they were selling milk at Rs40 per litre. If dairy farmers reduced their profit they would also cut the price, they claimed.

According to EDO of revenue Barkat Rizvi the price of milk in Hyderabad was always fixed Rs2 less than the rate of milk in Karachi. So, he said, Rs35 per litre retail and Rs33 wholesale were fixed in line with this policy.

Sheikh claimed that with raise of Rs3.60 from April 1, 2008 by dairy farmers and commission agents consumers were already facing problems but they had again raised it by Rs1.50 per litre from Aug 1.

He said that dairy farmers and commission agents increased Rs2 per litre earlier in February, Rs3.60 in April and now Rs1.50 on Aug 1.

The EDO of revenue has called a meeting of retail milk sellers on Monday night to settle the issue.