Progressive Dairy Solutions to set up milk processing plant

Punjab-based Progressive Dairy Solutions (PDS), incorporated by progressive dairy farmers of the state, is planning to set up a state-of-the-art milk plant at Ludhiana. The unit would cost Rs 6 crore.

With a capacity to process 100,000 litres a day, the proposed company is planning to retail milk in cities such as Chandigharh, Ludhiana and Jalandhar.

Dairy farmers have been complaining of not being paid adequately by the milk plants in the state. Speaking to Business Standard, Munish Sharma, general-manager, Progressive Dairy Solutions, said, "Dairy farmers in the state were not getting appropriate price from the milk plants, so we started operations last year through a leased plant to assist the farmers. We are processing around 20,000 litres a day and marketing our milk under the brand La Pure in Ludhiana and Jalandhar. In addition to milk, we are processing curd, buttermilk, ghee and flavoured milk. Buoyed by the response, we decided to set up our own plant with a project cost of Rs 6 crore and installed capacity of 100,000 litres a day. With around 700 progressive farmers as our stakeholders, there would be no dearth of milk for our plant. We expects more farmers to join once the plant is operational."

He said the new milk plant would be operational within a year.

The farmers' association has around 6,000 progressive dairy farmers in Punjab.

The success of commercial dairy farming in the state can be gauged from the fact that seven years ago it had only about 600 commercial dairy farms, while today it has over 6,000 dairy farms. Further, as these remunerative ventures are spreading, more and more progressive and enterprising farmers are entering this business. The company promises unadulterated and pure milk, which it ensures by using the latest technology to milk its cattle, to process and store it.