Bhubaneswar, Oct. 9: People with a sweet tooth may find that they would have to pay more as the price of milk is set to go up from October 11. Not only sweets, other milk products will also cost more. This apart, even the price of tea would rise.

The state-owned Orissa State Co-Operative Milk Producers Federation Limited (Omfed), the sole distributor of milk in the state, has decided to hike the price of milk by Rs 2 per litre from October 11.

The recent floods have also contributed to the hike in milk prices. According to official sources, there is a deficit of 50,000 litres of milk supply per day because of floods in 21 districts of the state. Milk is collected mainly from places such as Tirtol, Banki, Balikuda, Niali, Kendrapara and Puri.

However, Subas Chandra Tripathy, public relation officer, Omfed, said the price rise is minimal as compared to other states.

“The price of milk, which is sold at Rs 24 per litre in Orissa, would cost something between Rs 28 to Rs 38 in other states. The price rise would also give impetus to farmers involved in milk production,” he said.

The hike has raised chances of prices of sweet and other milk products such as khua, cheese and paneer to go up.

“Whenever the price of milk increased, the cost of sweets has also gone up. At the same time, sweet shop owners will decide how much they want to increase the price of their products,” said Sudhakar Patra, a sweet shop owner.

The tea prices will also go up. “We have to pay for electric bills and other commodities needed for making tea. In recent times everything has become dearer. Therefore, with the hike in milk prices, the price of tea will definitely go up,” said Sambhu Sahoo, a teashop owner.

On the other hand, some teashop owners supported the decision to raise milk prices.

“If you go through the milk prices of other metros, you will find that milk is cheaper in our state. The farmers need to get proper remuneration for their products,” said Ashok Paikray, an Omfed stall owner at Vani Vihar.

Though the price hike is aimed at provide monetary assistance to the milk-producing farmers, it would certainly affect the lower-income class.

“The hike will affect the lower income class as milk is an essential commodity. Any hike in sweet prices is not going to affect the lower income class,” said Ranjit Ray, a local resident.

At present, 11 Omfed centres are in operation throughout the state. They include nine diaries, one cattle feed centre and one horticulture centre. The federation also sells 4.5 lakh litres of milk daily.