Karnataka Milk Federation chief rules out ‘merger’ between Nandini and Amul
KMF chairman Balachandra Jarkiholi accused Opposition parties of playing politics over Amul’s ‘entry’ in Karnataka.
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The row over Nandini and Amul started when Gujarat-based Amul announced its entry into the fresh milk market in Bengaluru. (Express photo by Jithendra M) Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) chairman Balachandra Jarkiholi Tuesday ruled out the possibility of a merger between Amul and Nandini. He also said there was no threat to the KMF-owned Nandini brand from Amul or any private brands that sell fresh milk and curd.
Addressing a press conference in Belagavi, Jarkiholi accused Opposition parties of playing politics over Amul’s ‘entry’ in Karnataka. “Over 24 lakh farmers are members of KMF, out of which 10 lakh dairy farmers supply milk everyday. KMF’s Nandini milk is connected to over 28,000 villages across Karnataka and there are over 15,000 dairy cooperative societies. Looking at this scale, there are over 40-50 lakh voters connected to this process directly. I suspect Opposition parties are playing politics to misguide the voters by saying that Amul and Nandini will be merged,” said Jarkiholi.
Jarkiholi further said that Amul was already doing business in parts of Karnataka like Belagavi. “However, despite the presence of many private brands, no brand can compete with Nandini,” he added.
“Amul has been operating in Belagavi for the past seven years and they are finding it difficult to sell even 500 litres of milk in a day. There are already 10 private brands selling milk in Bengaluru. Despite all this, no one is able to compete with Nandini because of the price difference. Nandini is selling milk at the cheapest rate,” Jarkiholi said, adding that milk production took a hit this year because of cattle suffering skin diseases during the summer. The KMF chairman further said, “We have collected 75 lakh litre of milk this summer period, around 60,000 litre less compared to the corresponding period last year.”
“I appeal to everyone to not create further politics over Nandini and Amul. The KMF consisting of milk unions is there to work in the interest of the dairy farmers and the Nandini brand,” he said.
Meanwhile, members of the cooperative demanded that the government increase the price of procurement by Rs 5 per litre to help compensate for the high operating cost of producing milk. “Dairy farmers are currently getting Rs 33 per litre of milk. However, with soaring prices of fodder, and the cost of other products required for cattle to produce milk also increasing, milk producers should ideally be getting Rs 38 per litre of milk. The unscientific pricing of milk products is what is putting dairy farmers into trouble every time,” said a KMF member.
The row over Nandini and Amul started when Gujarat-based Amul announced its entry into the fresh milk market in Bengaluru. This angered Opposition leaders and pro-Kannada groups that dubbed Amul’s entry as a threat to the local brand Nandini.
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