Over the last few days, amid the election heat in Karnataka, a fresh controversy has arisen: the entry of cooperative giant Amul into the state.
The move by Amul Cooperative Society to venture into Karnataka’s retail market appears to have enraged the kannadigas, who are strongly denouncing its action.
This is because the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) – a successful cooperative milk federation – is already catering to the state’s consumption needs of various milk products through its flagship brand ‘Nandini’. It has become an integral part of their daily life.
Apart from Karnataka, KMF also sells its products in other states such as Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and Maharashtra, besides Delhi, on request.
Amul is already present in Karnataka as it has been selling ice creams in the state for a long time. However, its decision to sell milk and curd (though not directly but through e-commerce) was met with flak by the residents.
Amul has opened its Facebook and Twitter accounts, in the Kannada language, giving all information about its products.
Meanwhile, people have called for a boycott of Amul products. Many Twitter users have posted messages with hashtags such as ‘#Amul Go back’, ‘#Save KMF’ and ‘#Save Nandini’. They are asking why Amul, a co-operative, is taking on another co-operative.
According to former KMF managing director A.S. Premnath, there is an unsigned agreement among milk federations that they should not enter into competition with other milk federations, and that they would refrain from entering other’s market territory.
While there is no restriction on private companies selling milk in any state, Amul’s entry into Karnataka would defeat the very idea of cooperative milk societies, he added.
Bengaluru Milk Union president Narasimha Murthy said Nandini products will face stiff challenge if Amul starts selling its products in the state.
Amul’s entry into the dairy market of Karnataka
Amul’s entry into the dairy market of Karnataka has come at a time when there is a short supply of milk, which normally happens during the summer season because of lack of green fodder for the cattle. But some people claim the shortage is artificially created as the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state wants to facilitate Gujarat’s Amul to sell in Karnataka.
KMF officials say that there was a shortage of milk supply because of the lumpy skin disease among cattle. In January this year, milk production in the state had dropped by 10 lakh litres a day.
The officials added that there was no need to worry about Amul’s entry into the state. “Amul milk is sold at Rs 57 per litre as against Nandini’s Rs 34. In Hubballi and Belagavi, they don’t even sell 500 litres together. There is no competition for our quality, freshness and marketing in Karnataka.”
The current controversy started when Union home and cooperation minister Amit Shah visited Karnataka’s Mandya district on December 30, 2022, to inaugurate a Rs 260-crore dairy project. He had then called for the cooperation between Amul and KMF.
He had said, “Amul and KMF can work together towards ensuring that there is a primary dairy in every village in Karnataka. KMF will get all the technical support and cooperation from Amul. If they work together, it will benefit the farmers all over the country. Amul and KMF have to work together to boost the cooperative dairy in Karnataka.”
Apart from facing backlash from residents, the Amul-KMF controversy has taken a political turn too.
The opposition Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) leaders in the state have called for the boycott of Amul products.
“Nandini milk & curd supply to retail was less in the last few days & now Amul is slyly entering the market. It is clear that @AmitShah has a big role in destroying Nandini to help Amul,” Congress leader Siddaramaiah tweeted.
Karnataka Congress chief D.K. Shivakumar told news agency ANI: “We want to protect our milk and our farmers. We already have Nandini which is a better brand than Amul…We don’t need any Amul..our water, our milk, and our soil is strong.”
Former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, in a series of tweets, said: “Now there is a 3rd plot to finish the lifeline of Kannadigas Nandini. Plot-1: Merger of Nandini with Amul; Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement. Plot-2: Print the Hindi word ‘Dahi’ on curd.”
B.S.Arun is a senior journalist based in Bengaluru.