The price of liquid milk has gone up once again, dealing another blow to consumers already struggling with high inflation in the country.

Leading producers have raised the maximum retail price by Tk 10 per litre and Tk 5 for half-litre packs, further straining household budgets.

The increase has sparked concerns over affordability, especially for lower and middle-income families grappling with rising living costs.

State-run Bangladesh Milk Producers' Co-Operative Union Limited (Milkvita) has increased the price on March 21, said an official of the company.

The price of a half-litre packet of milk has been increased by Tk 5, or 10 percent, from Tk 50 to Tk 55, and the price of a one-litre packet of milk has been increased by Tk 10, or 11.11 percent, from Tk 90 to Tk 100, he said.

In November last year, both Aarong, a brand of BRAC Dairy, and Pran similarly increased the prices of their products.

Kiron Mia, a resident of the extended Pallabi area in Mirpur in the capital, said for a long time, the prices of many essential and non-essential items in the market have been rising.

Now, with another increase in milk prices, household expenses are set to rise even further, he said.

In this time of high inflation, the government could have avoided increasing the price of milk, he said.

Sabbir Hossain, a retail trader from Tejturi Bazar in Farmgate, Dhaka, said yesterday a customer came to buy 5 litres of milk but purchased only 4 litres due to the price increase.

Meanwhile, inflation eased in February but has remained above the 9 percent mark for the 24th straight month as rising prices of goods and services continue to erode consumers' purchasing power.

Jahidul Islam, managing director of Milkvita, told The Daily Star that for the past four to five months, each litre of milk was being sold at a loss of about Tk 8.

"We increased the price for farmers several times, but we could not raise it at the retail level," he said.

A proposal to increase the price was sent to the ministry three to four months ago and it was reviewed several times and finally approved last Thursday, he said.

Milkvita's competitors had already raised the price to Tk 100 per litre in November last year by increasing it by Tk 10 per litre, he added.

Milkvita sold 130,000 litres of milk yesterday, whereas during this time they usually sell around 225,000 litres daily, he mentioned.

Farmers can sell milk in the local market at a price higher than what Milkvita pays at the farm level. As a result, their collection volume has decreased, Islam added.

Aarong raised its prices in November 2024, with an increase of Tk 10 per litre and Tk 5 per half litre.

Mohammad Anisur Rahman, senior director of BRAC Enterprises, explained that the price hike was necessary due to rising costs, including a substantial increase in the price of livestock feed, which has significantly impacted milk production costs of farmers.

BRAC Dairy has been adjusting the prices of its products since July 2022, he said.

Over the past two years, raw material costs such as packaging, cartons, and spare parts have increased by 20 percent to 40 percent, he added.

Kamruzzaman Kamal, marketing director of Pran-RFL Group, said due to the increase in production costs for farmers, the price of milk has risen. As a result, the price has also increased at the retail level.

The country's annual domestic milk production stands at 9.9 million tonnes, while the demand reaches 15 million tonnes, according to data from the Department of Livestock Services.

The country also imports between 0.12 to 0.14 million tonnes of powdered milk.