After a controversy against Amul's entry in Karnataka fearing that the brand will affect the sale of the in-house brand Nandini, a brand which is built by farmers, now Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking his directions to stop Amul from procuring milk from the milk shed of state cooperative, Aavin, with immediate effect.
“It has come to our notice that the Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union (Amul), has utilised their multi-state cooperative licence to install chilling centres and a processing plant in the Krishnagiri district and has planned to procure milk through Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and Self Help Groups in and around Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupathur, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts in our state," he said in a letter.
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He said it had been a norm in India to let cooperatives thrive without infringing on each other’s milk-shed area.
“Such cross-procurement goes against the spirit of ‘Operation White Flood’ and will exacerbate problems for the consumers given the prevailing milk shortage scenario in the country. This act of Amul infringes on Aavin’s milk shed area which has been nurtured in true cooperative spirit over decades,” he said.
He further said that the move by Amul would create unhealthy competition between cooperatives engaged in procuring and marketing milk and milk products.
Regional cooperatives had been the bedrock of dairy development in the states and they are better placed to engage and nurture producers and to cushion consumers from arbitrary price hikes, he added.
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According to reports, the marketing division of Amul released multiple advertisements inviting farmers to supply milk in northern districts of the state, including Dharmapuri, Vellore, Krishnagiri, Tiruvannmalai, Ranipet and Kancheepuram districts.
The BJP, opposition Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) engaged in a war of words ahead of the Karnataka elections after the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation announced its plans to sell Amul milk and curd through quick commerce platforms in Bengaluru.
