In the apple-orchard heartland of Kullu district, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu took the stage at a public rally in Bajaura on Monday, 26 October 2026, and delivered numbers that dairy farmers in the hill state have been waiting for — cow milk procurement prices nearly doubled, and buffalo milk rates climbing sharply upward.

The price revision that changes kitchen-table math for dairy farmers

The headline announcement was direct: the procurement price for cow milk has been raised from ₹32 per litre to ₹61 per litre — a jump of nearly 91 percent. Buffalo milk has moved from ₹47 per litre to ₹71 per litre, an increase of over 51 percent. For small-scale livestock rearers in Himachal's high-altitude villages, where dairy income supplements — and often underwrites — the household economy, these revisions are not incremental. They are structural.

Sukhu framed the hikes as part of a broader state commitment: 'gramin arthvyavastha ko mazboot karna' ('strengthening the rural economy'), raising farmer and livestock-keeper incomes, and ensuring village-level prosperity. The message was pointed at the ground beneath people's feet — not at a policy document on a shelf.

Market access: from Kullu valleys to national and international buyers

Beyond dairy, the Chief Minister outlined efforts to connect Himachal's farmers and horticulturalists with national and international markets so they receive fair prices for their produce. Kullu, famed for its apple belt and temperate agriculture, sits at the centre of a long-standing challenge: growers with world-class produce but thin bargaining power against distant traders. The state government's push on market linkages directly targets that gap.

A delegation from Tandi village in Lahaul-Spiti also met the Chief Minister at the occasion, expressing gratitude for developmental works undertaken by the state government — a signal that outreach is extending even to the remote trans-Himalayan districts that border Ladakh.

Who shared the stage at Bajaura

The rally drew a cross-section of Congress leadership and local representatives. AICC Secretary Vidit Chaudhary, Kullu MLA Sunder Singh Thakur, and Lahaul-Spiti MLA Anuradha Rana were present alongside Himachal Pradesh Women's Commission Chairperson Vidya Negi, APMC Kullu and Lahaul-Spiti Chairman Ram Singh Mian, former minister Khimi Ram Sharma, and State Water Management Board Vice-Chairman Shashi Sharma. The presence of the Lahaul-Spiti MLA alongside Kullu's representatives underscored that the government is framing these rural economy measures as a mountain-wide, not just valley-specific, agenda.

Whether the revised procurement rates translate into consistent on-ground payments — and whether market-linkage promises move from rally pledges to supply-chain reality — will be the metric that farmers here measure the government against come the next harvest season.