Opposition Congress and netizens took strong exception to Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah’s suggestion that Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) and Amul India should work together to help farmers in Karnataka.
The former chief minister and Opposition Leader in the Assembly Siddramaiah said Shah’s suggestion will have an adverse impact on 25 lakh farmers who depend on the KMF. Milk producers in Karnataka do business for around Rs 20,000 crore and corporates in Gujarat are now eyeing it, Siddaramaiah alleged.
Many took to social media platforms to criticize what they termed as a suggestion for the merger of KMF with KMF and tweeted #SaveNandini. People also compared the quality of both the brands and said Nandini was better in terms of quality, taste and even price. Calling KMF Karnataka’s pride, citizens exclaimed that KMF was the top and a profitable brand in Karnataka.
SHIMUL chief hails idea of Amul-Nandini ‘merger’
Chitradurga: President of the Shivamogga, Davanagere and Chitradurga Cooperative Milk Producers’ Societies Union Ltd (SHIMUL) NH Shreepada Rao on Saturday welcomed Union Cooperative Minister Amit Shah’s suggestion to merge Nandini with Amul of Gujarat.
He told The New Sunday Express, “This is a good move as it helps dairy farmers get remunerative prices for milk. Moreover, value addition for milk procured by farmers will fetch additional revenue.” Stating that the milk procurement price is low in the state as compared to Amul, he said, “Our farmers too will get a good price if this merger takes place. Private players will become irrelevant in Karnataka.”
He said that many farmers in the state sell milk to private players, who package it and sell it at higher prices in other states. This can be prevented if the state government increases the milk procurement price. He said Nandini products will have a global presence if the merger takes place.
“Though we are providing milk and milk products of good quality, we are unable to sell them abroad. With the merger, our products too can be exported,” he added.
