Public Dairy, Private Players, and the Politics of Milk

In recent days, the Dairy Development Corporation’s (DDC) “yak cheese” has come into the spotlight. And perhaps rightly so. Prime Minister Balen Shah has promoted it with the phrase “Say Cheese,” playfully borrowing the expression commonly used while taking photographs to highlight a domestic product. Earlier, the Prime Minister also drew public attention on social media with his distinct choice of attire—a plain white shirt, striped trousers, and white shoes. Over the weekend, a photo of him eating cheese served on a small wooden platter alongside walnuts and grapes quickly revived attention toward DDC, an institution that had been fading from public discourse. More notably, it is uncommon for a head of government to directly promote a state-owned enterprise’s product. However, DDC is not the only player in Nepal’s dairy sector; the private industry is also deeply involved, and consumers are not solely dependent on its products. Nepal has a substantial base of dairy farmers as well as a large consumer market. If quality dairy products are made consistently available, demand will naturally follow. Moreover, if a government institution ensures reliable distribution and timely payments, financial uncertainty within the supply chain can be significantly reduced.