Amul plans to double capacity in in Punjab in 2-3 years

Amid a spurt in demand, the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), marketer of milk and milk products under the brand name of Amul, plans to double its processing facility in Punjab from five lakh litres a day to 10 lakh litres a day.

“We are planning to double our capacity in the state from five lakh litres a day to 10 lakh litres a day in next two to three years. Currently, besides our own unit at Khamano, we have private units across different locations,” said RS Sodhi, managing director, GCMMF.

According to insiders, there are four steps involved in milk business i.e production, procurement, processing and marketing. All are vital to run the business smoothly.

Currently, of the total processing, 80 per cent is retailed as liquid milk and the remaining 20 per cent is utilised in producing milk products such as butter oil (ghee), curd, butter, skimmed milk powder (SMP), besides ultra-high treated milk.

Amul’s nearest competitor in the state is the Punjab State Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited (MILKFED) which market its product under the Verka brand. It has processing capacity to handle around 30 lakh litres per day. Currently, on an average they are procuring around 19.5 lakh litres per day. Out of the total, 70 per cent is retailed as liquid milk, while the remaining is utilised to manufacture milk products.

The average daily milk production in the state is around 372 lakh litres. Out of the total milk produced in rural and semi-urban areas, around 200 lakh litres is marketable surplus. Of this surplus, around half of the milk sold is handled by the organised sector, comprising dairy cooperatives such as Milkfed’s Verka, Amul and private dairy companies and the rest by the unorganised sector such as milk vendors and sweet shops.

According to experts, the increased capacity would benefit the dairy farmers as they won’t face any procurement during the flush season (October to February when animals naturally produce more milk).