Wal-mart has been buying milk directly from cooperatives rather than from farmers.
The operations are probably as old as Bharti's three retail outlets in Punjab where the milk is sold for Wal-mart has no outlets of its own.
"Currently we are working with corporates, co-operatives,local and regional players to procure milk and milk products. As of now, we do not plan to procure milk directly from farmers or set up milk processing plants," Bharti-Wal-mart spokesperson told Business standard.
This was in response to queries about its milk procurement in India. It was reported to be targeting supply and procurement of 15 lakh litres daily in Punjab while eyeing similar targets in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, a matter the company did not comment on.
Wal-mart recently announced its ready to drink hormone free milk in the US. However it did not say if the procurement in India was linked to exports.
