Amul is planning to sell milk and curd in Bengaluru. (file)
New Delhi:
Caught in a political row over a market battle with popular Karnataka brand Nandini, the head of Gujarat-based cooperative Amul Brands on Tuesday said it will sell milk and curd only through online channels in Bengaluru and has no competition with Nandini Milk. . Very cheap due to state government subsidy.
Jayen Mehta, MD, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), insisted that an “Amul vs Nandini” scenario cannot happen as both the cooperatives are owned by farmers.
He said that GCMMF will sell its Amul products only through e-commerce platform and has no plans to enter Karnataka full-fledged.
According to him, Amul has been selling fresh milk in two districts of northern Karnataka since 2015-16, but “there is no competition” as Karnataka Milk Federation’s (KMF) Nandini milk is much cheaper than Amul’s because of the subsidy being given. Is. state government.
He said that Amul’s milk is Rs 54 per liter while Nandini’s milk is Rs 39 per liter as the state government gives subsidy to the farmers.
A political controversy has erupted after Amul announced on April 5 that it would supply milk and curd in Bengaluru.
Opposition parties – Congress and JD(S) – have trained their guns on the ruling BJP in the state with assembly elections just a month away, raising fears that the Rs 21,000-crore Nandini brand merged with Amul May go. ,
“There is no question of merger. Both are co-operatives. Amul is owned by farmers in Gujarat and Nandini is owned by farmers in Karnataka. We both are committed to building India’s cooperative dairy industry, not now but in decades to come.” making India the largest producer of milk in the world,” Mr. Mehta said.
Mr Mehta, who is currently the MD in-charge of GCMMF, insisted that “there is no threat to Nandini from Amul and vice versa. Both the cooperatives are working in coordination and cooperation with each other”.
Regarding the launch of its products in Karnataka, Mr. Mehta said that the cooperative has been selling fresh milk since 2015-16 in Hubli and Dharwad in North Karnataka, though the volume is only 8,000-10,000 per day as against about 1.30 lakh litres. This is a Litre. The total milk sold by Nandini per day in these two districts is
“People are saying that Amul has entered Karnataka. But we are there since 2015-16,” he said. Customers search data on online platforms.
He also ruled out plans for a full-fledged entry into the southern state as “not feasible” due to the huge cost involved.
GCMMF does not have milk processing plant and other infrastructure in Karnataka.
Citing the example of the relationship between the two cooperatives, he said that even today Amul ice cream is being prepared from Nandini’s milk and packed in their plants. This association for ice cream has been in place since 1998.
During 2020-21, when the country was battling the coronavirus pandemic, Mr Mehta said the GCMMF had bought Cheddar cheese worth Rs 200 crore from Nandini to support Karnataka farmers in view of the surplus milk production at that time.
“We also cooperate in many other ways, such as providing technical assistance,” he said.
The GCMMF is expecting a 20 per cent increase in its revenue to around Rs 66,000 crore this fiscal due to increased demand. It recorded a turnover of Rs 55,055 crore in 2022-23, a growth of 18.5 per cent over the previous year.
Presently, GCMMF has 98 milk processing plants across the country with an installed capacity of 470 lakh liters per day. On an average, she is collecting 270 lakh liters of milk from farmers per day.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)