Amul vs Aavin milk war erupts in Tamil Nadu; CM Stalin seeks Amit Shah's intervention

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday, May 25 wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah seeking his intervention for directing AMUL to desist from milk procurement from the milk shed area of Aavin in Tamil Nadu with 'immediate effect.' Stalin highlighted that Aavin is Tamil Nadu's apex cooperative marketing federation and AMUL's milk procurement move in the state will lead to 'unhealthy competition.' 

In the letter, Stalin mentioned, "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 milk shed area which has been nurtured in true cooperative spirit over decades." 

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, the letter reads. Stalin highlighted that such a move by AMUL will create unhealthy competition between cooperatives engaged in procuring and marketing milk and milk products.

AMUL sets up processing plant in TN

The Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers Union (AMUL) has recently installed the chilling centres and a processing plant in the Krishnagiri District of Tamil Nadu, posing a neck-to-neck challenge to Aavin's monopoly in the state's milk market. "AMUL has utilised their multi-state cooperative licence to set up centres and has planned to procure milk through FPCs and SHGs in and around Krishnagiri, Dharmapurt, Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupathur, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts in our State," Stalin said in the letter to Amit Shah. 

Meanwhile, under the Aavin co-operative, there are 9,673 Milk Producers Co-operative Societies functioning in rural areas of Tamil Nadu which procure 35 LLPD of milk from about 45 lakh pouring members, according to the letter. The Tamil Nadu government claims that under the ambit of Aavin, the milk producers are assured of remunerative and uniform prices throughout the year by the cooperative societies.