Bengaluru: Festive meals and must-have sweets are set to leave a bitter taste with Karnataka Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation (KMF) increasing ghee prices by Rs 135 a kg and butter prices by Rs 140 a kg, besides a sharp rise in paneer price.The immediate price revision comes within a week of govt increasing milk and curd prices, and also bus fares. Following multiple hikes, sweetmeat shops, bakeries, hotels and restaurants were already gearing up for passing on a part of the additional burden to customers — likely by 15%.Traditional delicacies such as Mysore Pak, Dharwad Peda, laddoo, halwa and Kaju Katli depend on pure ghee, which accounts for nearly 40-50% of the raw material cost in several preparations. “Customers may have to pay Rs 75-150 more per kg for traditional ghee-based sweets across retail counters,” said Suresh Chandra, a sweet-maker in Bengaluru.Restaurants and hotels, too, are preparing for price revision. Benne dosa, ghee masala dosa, ghee rice and ghee idli are likely to become costlier by Rs 15-25 per plate across darshinis and casual dining outlets. The price shock could extend to KMF’s own festive offerings. Its popular Nandini Mysore Pak and peda boxes may also see revised price tags.With Nandini paneer prices jumping from Rs 408 to Rs 485 a kg, popular dishes such as paneer butter masala, shahi paneer, kadai paneer and paneer tikka are expected to become more expensive, according to hoteliers.The dessert section, too, may be affected. Ghee gulab jamun, kheer and other premium milk-based desserts, along with lassi, butter cakes and pastries, could witness price increases of 10-15%, industry representatives said.“We are caught between rising input costs and customer resistance. Ghee and paneer are essential ingredients for maintaining authentic taste and quality. Given the unprecedented increase in KMF prices, passing on at least part of the additional burden to consumers has become unavoidable,” said Veerendra Kamath, secretary of Bruhat Bangalore Hotels’ Association.Revised Nandini Dairy Product PricesProduct Old Price Revised PriceGhee (500 ml) ₹358 ₹425Ghee (1 litre) ₹715 ₹850Salted butter (100g) ₹70 ₹90Salted butter (500g) ₹310 ₹380Unsalted butter (200g) ₹135 ₹160Unsalted butter (500g) ₹330 ₹390Paneer (200g) ₹96 ₹115Paneer (500g) ₹208 ₹260Paneer (1kg) ₹410 ₹485Medium-fat paneer (200 g) ₹85 ₹110
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