NDDB eyes 15% of West Bengal's dairy market

State is the largest toned milk market in the country, says company

Two Mother Dairy products - ultra heat treated (UHT) double toned milk and ghee - were launched in the West Bengal market today.

The company expects sales in West Bengal to be 15-20 per cent of its national sales by 2010.

West Bengal's share in national sales of Dhara edible oil and Safal food brands of MDIL was 8 per cent and 7 per cent respectively at present.

NDDB's aim was to push sales to Rs 2000 crore by the next fiscal and grow at 20-25 per cent so as to close the gap with market leaders like Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) and Nestle.

In the second phase, in May, MDIL will launch dairy whitener and butter, while Mother Dairy ice cream will hit the stands in June, and curd and paneer by end 2005, Thachil explained.

West Bengal was the largest UHT milk market in the country and the third largest state in terms of marketsize for butter.

Thachil said milk sales in West Bengal were routed through various channels and one major buyer group was the state's enormous unorganised sweetmeat industry.

"The sweetmeat sector is currently not the target because the present product line of UHT milk and ghee is sourced from outside the state", Thachil said.

In future, MDIL will be looking at a processing facility to introduce specialised dairy products for which long distance transportation was not feasible.

MDIL has established its presence in the north-eastern states and Orissa besides nursing plans to emerge as a strong player in markets like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Goa in the near future, Thachil added.

Plans include launch of Mother Dairy ice-cream in Mumbai next month and expanding the reach of products like jams and ketchup from the Delhi zone to other major consuming centres.

Thachil said the liquid milk segment was growing at 3-4 per cent while Mother Dairy sales were growing at 10-12 per cent.

Butter sales had achieved a growth rate of 5-6 per cent, UHT milk of 30-40 per cent and dairy whitener of 6-8 per cent.

"The company's objective has always been the well-being of the Indian dairy farmer, so market expansion and competition are welcome as it benefits farmers. The NDDB network of state milk co-operative federations and its expertise in milk procurement and processing are difficult to match", he claimed.

Using the existing distribution infrastructure in place for Dhara and Safal, MDIL will cover 14,000 retail outlets in West Bengal with 7,000 in Kolkata.