The fight between Verghese Kurien and his protégé Dr. Amrita Patel is reappearing in new avatar. Readers could recollect those old days when Kurien fiercely opposed corporatization of dairy cooperative leading to parting of ways between the two stalwarts.
Today again NDDB controlled Mother Dairy is riding roughshod over the principle of fair business and cooperative principles to beat Amul and others. It buys milk from farmers cheap and sells dear while its Gujarat equivalent pays farmers a reasonable price.
Some analysts of the dairy scene have termed mother dairy’s business an activity obsessed with making money at all costs.
The mother dairy officials have said all charges being levelled against the Delhi dairy major are without foundation in facts. According to them, it is the middlemen who are fleecing milkmen.
Pressured by mother dairy’s runaway success, smaller dairy entities such as Paras and Gopaljee have begun selling their products at a cheaper price to ward off any threat to their existence. The impact of their efforts is rated doubtful as they lack the power of brands and reputation.
It bears a special mention that the dairy industry in the north is denied price support mechanism and this is mainly due to the fact that the dhudhiyas enjoy a strong political support in this part of the country.
Exhibiting their commitment to a fair business, some cooperatives in Haryana and Rajasthan reduced consumer prices when they paid less for procuring milk from farmers. Mother dairy has all along refused to act on this logic, though.
There are conjectures rife in the dairy circles that NDDB would soon pitch in to begin joint venture companies and cooperatives based on the latest ideas. However, observers take a poor view of whatever NDDB would do as its moves could only harm farmers and the cooperative movement.
Gujarat has scored a big success as its milk procurement recently jumped from 7 millon tonnes to a whopping 14 million tonnes. The achievement underscores the power of the cooperative sector in the state.