Fresh milk row: Now, it's Amul vs Aavin in Tamil Nadu as CM Stalin asks Centre to intervene

In a fresh regional milk row after the Amul vs Nandini row in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah asking him to direct Gujarat-based Amul to desist from milk procurement from the milk shed of state cooperative, Aavin, with immediate effect. 

CM Stalin, in his letter, noted that Amul by utilising their multi-state cooperative licence is planning to procure milk through Farmer Producer Organisations and self-help groups.   

“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. 

 He further noted that Amul’s latest move will create unhealthy competition between cooperatives in the state, which are engaged in procuring and marketing milk and milk products. 

“It has 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 consumers given the prevailing milk shortage scenario in the country. This act of Amul infringes on Aavin's (TN Co-operative Milk Producers Federation) milk shed area which has been nurtured in true cooperative spirit over decades,” he noted in his letter. 

"Regional cooperatives have 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. Therefore, I request your urgent intervention to direct Amul to desist from milk procurement from the milk shed area of Aavin in Tamil Nadu with immediate effect," the Chief Minister said. 

Aavin vs Amul 

Aavin is the state government cooperative under the ownership of Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Producers Federation Limited, Ministry of Cooperation, Government of Tamil Nadu. The company produces a wide range of products, including milk, butter, yogurt, ice cream, ghee, milkshake, khoa, tea, coffee, and chocolate. 

Under the ambit of the Aavin co-operative, 9,673 milk producers' co-operative societies are functioning in the rural areas of Tamil Nadu. They procure 35 LLPD of milk from about 4.5 lakh pouring members, according to the state government.  

Founded in 1946, Amul is a dairy cooperative based in Anand. It is managed by the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF), which is jointly owned by about 36 lakh milk producers in the state. The milk producers, who are spread across 18,600 villages in Gujarat, have formed 18 member unions to manage the activities. The daily procurement is about 270 lakh litres of milk, as per its latest annual report. 

In a statement in April 2023, the GCMMF said it has registered a provisional turnover of Rs 55,055 crore for the financial year 2022-23. 

Amul vs Nandini in Karnataka 

The Amul vs Nandini row started in December 2022 when Union Home Minister Amit Shah called for ‘cooperation’ between the cooperative-model-based dairy companies, Amul and Nandini, during a public meeting in Mandya. The problem snowballed into a political issue later. 

The milk war further heightened ahead of the assembly elections with a tweet from Amul, where it stated that it will start online deliveries in Bengaluru. The announcement did not go down well with local milk producers in Karnataka associated with the state's own dairy brand, Nandini. 

Karnataka Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited, with the brand name Nandini, supplies to over 22,000 villages across the state. The milk federation consists of over 24 lakh milk producers, procures over 81 lakh kgs of milk every day, sells over 42 lakh kgs of milk per day, consists of 17,000 milk cooperative societies, and makes payments up to Rs 17 crore per day to farmers. The annual turnover of KMF is estimated at around Rs 14,000 crore, as of 2022-23 data. 

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