Finnish national daily Helsingin Sanomat reported Friday that HOK-Elanto, the country's biggest local cooperative retailer, had switched to Arla milk, dealing a severe blow to Finnish dairy Valio.

Eero Isomaa of Finnish farmers' lobby MTK blasted HOK-Elanto's move and added he hoped other cooperatives would not follow suit.

He told the paper that the phenomenon threatened the Finnish dairy industry.

Arla Foods is headquartered in Denmark.

Part of Suomen Osuuskauppa, HOK-Elanto runs a vast network of supermarkets in the Finnish capital region and central Uusimaa.

STT