Nandini ghee, butter in short supply, say consumers

Nandini ghee and butter manufactured and marketed by the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) are in short supply in the market, say consumers.

Nandini ghee and butter manufactured and marketed by the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) are in short supply in the market, say consumers.

Sudhir Rao (name changed) who is into catering in Karkala said that caterers have been forced to purchase ghee and butter manufactured and supplied by private players in the market since over a month as the two Nandini brand products are not available in enough quantity.

“Nandi ghee and butter are available only with some milk dealers who have old stocks. A majority of dealers do not have them,” he said, adding that the two products sold by private players are also in short supply due to high demand by consumers.

A milk dealer at Kottara in the city Ashok Kini (name changed) said that stocks of Nandini brand’s butter with him got over a month ago. He is selling Amul butter since then. Mr. Kini had only a few packets of Nandini ghee with him. “Milk and its by-products supplied by private market players are also not available in enough quantity,” he said.

Admitting that the two products of KMF are in short supply to the tune of 40% each across Karnataka, K.P. Sucharitha Shetty, president, Dakshina Kannada Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union Ltd (DKMUL) told The Hindu that it is due to high demand for milk and its by-products due to the festival season.

“Demand for milk under the DKMUL is up by about 20% since over three months. It is due to temple fairs and other rituals like Bhoota kolas and private functions. Since Ramadan is also being observed now, there is high demand for milk and its by-products. Curd is in high demand due to Summer,” Mr. Shetty said.

The president said that the daily demand for milk under the DKMUL has now touched to over four lakh litres. There is a dearth of 40,000 litres of milk a day though the DKMUL’s milk production stands at 4.28 lakh litres a day which varied. Hence, the shortage is being met by procuring milk by the milk unions of Hassan and Mandya.