Dairy stocks sizzle as temperatures soar. Time to milk gains?
Concerns over milk shortages amid soaring temperatures, when peak summer demand has just started to kick in, have given a fillip to dairy stocks over the last one month. Shares of Heritage Foods have rallied 23% while those of Parag Milk are up 10% in anticipation of further price hikes, which could boost the margins…
Government wants you to ditch oil for ghee
The Union Government is looking to promote use of ghee as a cooking medium, to replace the use of palm oil and other edible oils, and the reason is not just health. Government sources have told CNBC TV18 that use of more ghee as a cooking medium will not just save foreign exchange by saving on edible…
Amul over Nandini? No whey
No creature—celestial or mortal—has been coveted, abducted or stolen as much and as many times as the sacred cow Nandini. She appears as the same as Kamadhenu in most stories, but as her daughter in a few. The list of her abductors is long—Vishwamitra, Satyavrata, the Ashtavasus, to name a few. Now Siddaramaiah has added…
Nepal’s dairy sector flags severe milk shortage
Nepali dairy industries have requested the government to lift the restriction on imports of skimmed milk powder or full cream milk powder to avert possible shortages in the domestic market. Prahlad Dahal, president of the Nepal Dairy Association, said the state-owned Dairy Development Corporation (DDC) and privately-owned Nepal Dairy Association and Dairy Industry Association have…
Kerala CM launches ‘Repositioning Milma 2023’ initiative
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday launched an ambitious rebranding initiative of the cooperative dairy major Milma focusing on an image makeover of the brand. The rebranding envisages bringing uniformity in packaging, design and product quality to meet the challenges from domestic and global competitors while reinforcing its position as the market leader. Rolling…
Milma vs Nandini: Consumers must benefit in dairy war
Two dairy wars are happening in two southern states—Kerala and Karnataka—involving three dominant milk cooperatives. Nandini, a brand owned by the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), is facing a threat from Amul, owned by the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, in its home state. The Karnataka-based cooperative is accused of encroaching into the market territory of…
Amul Vs Nandini: Don’t let politics stoke market sub-nationalism
Fists have been waved in poll-bound Karnataka, where opposition parties like the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) have joined pro-Kannada groups in attacking the state’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government for letting Gujarat’s Amul sell milk and other dairy products there. This, they allege, poses a threat to Nandini, a brand operated by the state’s…
The green roadmap of the White Revolution
India’s dairy sector’s growth story is impressive but is overshadowed by low productivity. A NITI Aayog Working Paper titled “India’s White Revolution: Achievements and the Next Phase” has listed key challenges that the country needs to overcome to fully unlock the potential of its dairy sector. The working paper authored by Ramesh Chand can be…
Sanjaya Baru | Amul and dairy co-ops: Milch cows get political
The controversy generated by the aggressive push into Karnataka of the Gujarat-based Amul, owned by the Gujarat government’s multi-billion dollar entity, the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), was just waiting to happen. Worried about the impact of the controversy on the outcome of the state Assembly elections in Karnataka, the Amul management has beaten…
A big fat problem in milk: What’s driving up prices?
The current price inflation in milk is mainly due to a shortage of fat. It has led dairies to hike full-cream milk prices or to cut fat content through rebranding of existing products. Also, milk does not attract GST, while fat and powder used in reconstitution does, an anomalous situation for which the consumer ultimately…