No question of Nandini-Amul merger, says Karnataka minister S T Somashekar

'Only those who don't know enough about the Karnataka Milk Federation can say wrong things,' Somashekar said

Amid backlash over Amul entering the Karnataka dairy market, Cooperation Minister S T Somashekar on Sunday clarified that there is no proposal to merge Nandini with its Gujarat counterpart.

"There's no proposal to merge Nandini and Amul, let alone the two making dairy products together," Somashekar told a news conference.

"Only those who don't know enough about the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) can say wrong things," Somashekar said, slamming the Opposition parties for politicising the Nandini-Amul issue.

"Nandini products are capable of facing competition from any brand, including Amul. There is no question of KMF being insecure. Since S M Krishna's time, KMF has been strong and profitable," Somashekar said, specifying that there is no artificial shortage of milk as alleged.

Also Read | Amul 'not entering' Karnataka: BJP IT chief

Somashekar pointed out that milk production usually drops in summer. "This is known to be a lean period, which marks the end of flush season. But Karnataka has 15 milk unions and all of them are profitable. They purchase milk from 25-26 lakh dairy farmers daily. This only shows how robust KMF is and its penetration at the grassroot level can’t be matched by any brand. Hence, there is no threat of Nandini losing its business to its rivals,” he said, adding that KMF does business worlwide.

Quoting Union Home & Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, Somashekar said KMF would get technical support and cooperation from Amul. Somashekar asserted that Shah did not mean merger of both brands.

Somashekar said Amul will sell milk online in Karnataka at Rs 57 per litre. "Nandini milk sells at Rs 39 a litre. Nandini milk and dairy products are sent to Tamil Nadu and other states. We send ghee and cheese to Gujarat," Somashekar said.

The Yeshwantpur MLA even claimed that JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy is making an issue out of Amul to divert attention from the fight within his family over the Hassan ticket.

BJP general secretary Ashwathnarayana noted that KMF sells its products in 12 states. "Congress and JD(S) leaders are fuelling this misleading campaign only to hide internal squabbles within their own parties," he said.

Siddu targets PM

Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Nandini-Amul issue. "You have already stolen banks, ports and airports from Kannadigas. Are you now trying to steal Nandini (KMF) from us?" he said in a tweet.