Kerala govt opposes expansion of Karnataka’s dairy brand Nandini in state

The Kerala government has filed a complaint with the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) against Karnataka dairy brand Nandini opening more outlets in the state.

Minister for Dairy Development, Milk Co-operatives J Chinchurani said Nandini had not sought permission to open outlets in the state.

“We had requested NDDB to look into the matter”, she said.

Milma, Kerala’s milk brand under the Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation, has been against the opening of Nandini outlets in Kerala.

“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?” said Milma Chairman KS Mani.

“Whoever does this, it is a highly unethical practice which defeats the very purpose of India’s dairy movement and harms the interests of the farmers,” he added.

The move by the state government comes after Milma decided to oppose the sale of Karnataka Milk Federation’s Nandini dairy products in Kerala.

Milma Malabar Region Cooperative Milk Producers Union chairman KS Mani said the issue would be raised in the next board of directors meeting of the National Cooperative Dairy Federation of India.