Amul hails Sitharaman’s announcements on dairy, animal husbandry

Rutam Vora | HBL

AHMEDABAD — Amul has hailed the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget announcements on the dairy and animal husbandry sector.

The Finance Minister said the government is looking to facilitate doubling of milk processing capacities from 53.5 million tonnes (MT) to 108 MT by 2025.

R.S. Sodhi, Managing Director of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), the marketer of Amul, said, “That’s an excellent move. It will bring more investment in the dairy sector, which will increase farmers’ bargaining power to get better prices for their produce. If done properly, it will create 80 lakh jobs in Rural India and 16 lakh jobs in Urban India.”

On the Government’s aim to eliminate animal diseases such as Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis by 2025, the dairy major said, “Doubling the Artificial Insemination Target and elimination of FMD and Brucellosis by 2025 will increase productivity and reduce the cost of production.”

Sodhi also said the government’s move on Kissan rail will reduce the time and cost of transporting perishable products like milk.