Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday asked Gujarat-based Amul brand milk products maker GCMMF to expand its successful cooperative model to other parts in the country.
Gujarat Co-Operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) markets dairy products under brand name 'Amul'. "We need to see how you can further strengthen the cooperative model. I think GCMMF should look at expanding its operation in other parts of the country under the multi-state cooperative model," Pawar said after inaugurating Amul's new processing plant here.
Such a move will further boost milk production in the country from the current level of 122 million tonnes and would also improve farmers income, he added.
Established in 1973, GCMMF is the country's biggest milk co-operative. It was confined to Gujarat till 2003. The dairy cooperative at present has processing units in Haryana and procures milk from local farmers. Its new processing unit at Dhuruhera with a capacity of 30 lakh litres per day will help meet growing demand of Delhi-NCR market. "Amul should procure minimum 10 lakh litres per day from Haryana farmers," Pawar said. The minister also stressed the need to improve livestock breeding and fodder availability.
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda emphasised the need to emulate Amul's success story in the state. "Our state is second largest milk producer in the country. The way Gujarat farmers have benefited from dairy cooperative model, we are trying the same in our state. We are encouraging livestock sector in a big way," he said. The new dairy plant in the state set up with an investment of Rs 450 crore will augment Amul’s processing capacity to 40 lakh litres per day (LLPD) in Haryana, while its all-India capacity increased to 170 LLPD, making the country's largest dairy cooperative.
GCMFF Chairman Vipul Chaudhary said the new facility will further boost its share in the rapidly-growing packaged milk market of the National Capital Region (NCR).
Amul's sale in the packed milk market in the NCR is 24 lakh litres. Total packed milk market in NCR is around 50 LLPD. The other players are Mother Dairy (19LLPD), Delhi Milk Scheme (3 LLPD), Vita and private brands like Paras among others.