Chennai, July 20:
The Tamil Nadu government on Monday withdrew the revised pricing order for ghee issued by Aavin within a week, following media scrutiny, while maintaining that consumers were never charged higher retail prices.
The July 14 proceedings of the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation, which markets products under the Aavin brand, had revised billing prices, maximum retail prices (MRP), and wholesale dealer (WSD) margins for select ghee variants with effect from July 15. However, the order entered the public domain soon after issuance, triggering reports of a price hike.
According to the revised structure, the billing price of the 500-ml ghee pet jar was increased to Rs 347.62 from Rs 333.33. The one-litre ghee pet jar was revised to Rs 666.67 from Rs 647.62, while the one-litre ghee carton saw a change to Rs 657.14 from Rs 638.10. The order also modified commissions payable to wholesale dealers and retailers.
Amid growing reports and public attention, the government issued a clarification stating that claims of a retail price hike were “factually incorrect.” It asserted that Aavin continued to supply all ghee variants at existing retail prices and that no increase had been implemented at the consumer level.
The government further announced that the revised WSD margin had been withdrawn, restoring the earlier margin structure. With this move, the July 14 pricing revision stands rescinded in full, including billing prices, MRPs, and dealer margins.
The episode highlights how an internal pricing revision, though not enforced at the retail level, sparked confusion and was rolled back within days after drawing widespread media attention.