Visakha Dairy clocks Rs 229cr turnover

Milk product sales up 27%

Visakha Co-operative Dairy, the biggest co-operative dairy in the state in terms of milk procurement and sales turnover, registered over 27 per cent growth in sales of milk products in the fiscal ended March 31, 2005.

The dairy manufactures about 10 varieties of milk products such as butter milk, flavoured milk, butter, ghee, curd, milk powder and milk sweets.

Visakha Dairy achieved a sales turnover of Rs 50.53 crore on milk products in 2004-05 as compared to Rs 39.79 crore in 2003-04, representing a growth of about 27 per cent.

The dairy's total turnover increased from Rs 211.11 crore (Rs 171.32 crore on milk sales and 39.79 crore on product sales) in 2003-04 to Rs 228.69 crore (Rs 178.16 crore on milk sales and Rs 50.53 crore on products sales) in 2004-05.

"In 2004-05, we expanded our market network significantly. We have opened more than 500 new outlets in the four coastal districts because of which our product sales increased by Rs 10.74 crore in the fiscal ended March 31, 2005," N V Venkata Rao, managing director of Visakha Dairy, told Business Standard.

"During 2004-05, both our milk procurement and loose milk sales increased significantly because of which our turnover increased," he added.

Visakha Dairy's average milk procurement level was at 3.37 lakh litres per day in 2004-05 as compared to 3.18 lakh litres per day in the previous year. Its loose milk sales increased from 2.34 lakh litres a day to 2.81 lakh litres per day.

"Apart from loose sales, we have been supplying 50,000 litres of milk to the Kolkata market and 20,000 litres to Amul every day," Venkata Rao said.

The dairy installed 18 new bulk coolers at an investment of more than Rs 1.5 crore in 2004-05 to meet its increased milk procurement. On an average, the dairy paid Rs 11.25 on every litre of milk procured in 2004-05 as compared to Rs 10.82 paid in 2003-04.

"In the 2004-05 fiscal, the number of milk suppliers increased from 1.67 lakh to 1.74 lakh, and the cattle increased by more than 4,000. Keeping this in mind, we are targeting to procure, on an average, 3.5 lakh litres milk per day in the current fiscal," Venkata Rao said.