Tea, coffee costlier in Madurai as milk prices increased, BJP to protest

Madurai (Tamil Nadu) [India], November 9 (ANI): The District Coffee and Tea Trade Association in the Madurai district of Tamil Nadu has decided to increase the prices of tea and coffee by Rs 15 owing to an increase in the price of milk.
Aavin, a local milk co-operative under the Tamil Nadu Co-operative Milk Producers' Federation, has already hiked the prices of its three milk variants -- Premium (sold in orange packets), Tea Matte (red) and Gold (brown) -- by Rs 12, Rs 16 and Rs 11 per litre respectively.
Selva Kumar, a local tea shop owner, told ANI, "Due to the increase in the price of milk, we have had to hike the prices of tea and coffee. Apart from milk, the price of dairy whitener or milk power has also gone up. Facing the double whammy, we have been forced to jack up the prices of tea and coffee."
Speaking to ANI, Sundar, secretary, District Coffee and Tea Trade Association, said the poor consumers have been hit the hardest, with the milk prices going up 'more than ever'.
"All local beverage shops in Madurai have started to selling tea and coffee and increased rates due to the rise in the price of milk. The price of milk has literally gone through the roof this time. The poor consumers have been severely affected," he said.
BJP Tamil Nadu president Annamalai condemned the rise in milk prices and said his party will take out massive rallies across the state to protest the increase in rates and articulate the rising public anger against the same.
Claiming that the local dairy industry has been affected by the rise in milk prices, the secretary of the District Coffee and Tea Trade Association called on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin to take immediate steps to reduce the prices. "Our (dairy) industry has also been hit hard by the rise in milk prices. The chief minister should take immediate steps to lower the prices," Sundar said.
Chithra, a local, said the poor, who don't often have money to buy food, prefer to take tea and coffee to get by. "People who don't have money to buy food prefer tea or coffee. However, such is the extent of the rise in milk prices this time that tea and coffee have become simply unaffordable for them," she told ANI. (ANI)