Sri Lanka govt unlikely to tie up with Amul for dairy plans

The Anura Dissanayake government in Sri Lanka is unlikely to follow in the footsteps of its predecessors in collaborating with India’s Amul in the development of its dairy industry, Sri Lanka-based Daily Mirror said quoting sources.

Amul or Anand Milk Union Limited, the most-successful dairy brand in India, owned by the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), is credited with starting India’s White Revolution and employs over 3.6 million dairy farmers.

India-Lanka deal

The Ranil Wickremesinghe-headed government had collaborated with India’s National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and Amul to increase its dairy production and achieve self-reliance in the sector. There were also reports that Milco, the state-owned dairy company in Sri Lanka and other dairy farms will be assimilated into Amul as part of a joint venture between the two neighbouring countries.

Also read: Sri Lanka President Dissanayake’s will be more than fence-mending visit to India

But, while the Wickremesinghe government had signed an initial agreement to seal the deal, the same was protested by trade unions affiliated to Dissanayake’s National People’s Power (NPP), the report says.

Why NPP is against the deal?

Stressing that the NPP government is not keen on going forward with the deal, the report says the matter was also skipped from the agenda during Dissanayake’s recent visit to India.

Both the sides, however, held discussions on collaboration for the development of the dairy sector in Sri Lanka to achieve self-reliance and nutritional security.

Also read: Amul to make Kashi Vishwanath Temple prasad, recipe decided after months of research

Quoting a source familiar with the matter, the report attributed Dissanayake government’s reluctance to go ahead with the deal to its opposition to the “outright sale of state assets”.