Amul plans to set up processing plant in WB

The dairy major sells milk in the Kolkata market since the last seven to eight year

Gujarat-head quartered dairy major the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) which markets milk and milk products under the Amul brand, is spreading its wings rapidly outside the state. After entering the Punjab market this week, Amul is now all set to start work on a one million litres per day (lpd) dairy plant in West Bengal.

The dairy major is selling milk in the Kolkata market since the last seven to eight year, and according to R S Sodhi, managing director, GCMMF, "Amul is now the number one player in branded liquid milk market in Kolkata region, with an almost 55 per cent market share." It sells around 700,000 lpd of milk per day.

Amul is thus planning to set up its own dairy plant near Howrah with an investment of around Rs 200-300 crore to cater to the growing demand in the region. It currently has three hired manufacturers. Sodhi said that the state government itself has approached the dairy major to set up a facility in West Bengal and has also offered land at a food park near Howrah.

"We will make value-added products like ice cream, paneer (cottage cheese), buttermilk etc. Things are on a final stage, and we should be able to begin work on construction very soon. The plant should be up and running in one to one and a half years," Sodhi said.

Currently, Amul procures around 300,000-350,000 lpd of milk from local farmers in West Bengal. "West Bengal has very good quality and quantity of milk, and the farmers too are very keen on adopting dairy farming," Sodhi said adding that in which ever states Amul has entered earlier, the local farmers have gained. "Be it Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Maharashtra or West Bengal, the procurement prices for milk have gone up thanks to Amul's entry," he claimed.

Amul entered the Punjab market this week, tying up with a third party processor in Gurdaspur. While the initial capacity would be around 200,000 lpd, Amul would look at having its own unit in Punjab in the long run.

The Punjab State Cooperative Milk Producer's Federation Ltd, which sells milk under the Verka brand already procures around 1.2 million lpd of milk in Punjab. The branded liquid milk market in Punjab is relatively smaller in size, around 1.5-1.6 million lpd, the state, however, has a huge loose milk market, of around 7-8 million lpd. Amul plans to convert consumers from the loose milk market to branded one with its entry.