Politics
Kerala Minister Chinchurani Says Karnataka's Nandini Milk Products Are Of 'Poor Quality', Asks Keralites Not to Buy It
Swarajya Staff
Jun 16, 2023, 08:17 AM | Updated 10:21 AM IST
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Seeking to ratchet up opposition to the sale of Nandini milk and dairy products by the Karnataka Milk Federation in Kerala, the state Animal Husbandry Ministry J.Chinchurani said that Nandini’s products are of poor quality and asked Keralites not to purchase them.
“Milma, the milk cooperative in Kerala, offers the best quality milk in the country,” the minister further said.
The minister's remarks assumes significance as it comes close on the heels of a strongly-worded letter by ruling CPM-controlled Kerala Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Milma) to its Karnataka counterpart urging it to abandon plans to scale up the presence of Nandini brand in Kerala.
The Kerala Milk Federation has also sought an intervention by the National Dairy Development Board. The federation said that it will spare no efforts to protect its homegrown brand Milma.
Chinchurani said that the state is also planning to file a complaint with the National Dairy Development Board.
Chinchurani also claimed that Nandini had not sought permission to open outlets in the state.
She alleged that Nandini violated rules by established outlets in Mancheri and Tirur in Malappuram district, Kochi in Ernakulam district, and Pandalam in Pathanamthitta district.
Milma chairman KS Mani on Wednesday said the he will raise the issue of Nandini's expanding footprint in the next board of directors meeting of the National Cooperative Dairy Federation of India.
"The move of Amul (Gujarat Milk Co-operative Federation) to promote its staple products in Karnataka has been met with strong resistance from the stakeholders in that state. But Karnataka Milk Marketing Federation recently opened its outlets in parts of Kerala to sell its Nandini brand of milk and other products. How could this be justified?” Mani has said earlier.
Pointing out he had supported the opposition to Amul's foray in to Karnataka, Mani said that by attempting to enter and expand in Kerala, Nandini has now lost the moral standing to oppose Amul.
In April, Mani alleged that tendency of some State milk marketing federations to aggressively enter markets outside their respective States is a "breach of the cooperative spirit based on which the country’s dairy sector has been organised for the benefit of millions of dairy farmers."
Mani cited an agreement that has termed cross-border milk marketing amounts to "blatant encroachment of the sale area of the respective state".
Karnataka's response
Kyathasandra N. Rajanna, the Minister of Cooperation in Karnataka, dismissed Kerala's objections, saying it is just competition and there is nothing "unethical" about it.
"This is a democratic country. A federation of states. So anybody can go anywhere and in the entire country they can sell. It is not unethical. It is competition. Competition is healthy," NDTV quoted Rajanna as saying
In the run-up to the state assembly elections in Karnataka, the opposition Congress, with ample support of self-styled Kannada activists and section of media, attempted to stoke a controversy over the entry of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation's (GCMMF's) Amul brand in the Bengaluru market through quick commerce platforms.
The opposition has alleged that the entry of Amul into the Bengaluru market could adversely affect the Nandini brand owned by the Karnataka Milk Federation.
Claiming that Nandini milk which is closely tied to the identity of Kannadigas, Congress leaders including Siddaramaiah accused the THEN Basavaraj Bommai-led government of destroying the "state's pride".
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