April 25, 2012 / 19:46 IST
The Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF), makers of Amul brand dairy products, will be setting up nine new plants in the next four years at a cost of Rs 3,000 crore and also expand the capacity of the existing plant, to a top GCMMF official said.
Managing Director of GCMMF R S Sodhi said the dairy products maker has plans to touch Rs 30,000 crore turnover by 2020. "In the next four years, we are investing around Rs 3,000 crore in setting up nine new plants and the capacity of the existing 40 plants will be increased," Sodhi said in a press conference during the launch of Amul Pro, a protein-rich beverage in Andhra Pradesh market."We have 14.5 million liters per day capacity and it will reach to 18 million liters per day after the expansion," he added. Sodhi said they increased the milk procuring price by almost 50% in the last three years to farmers in order to keep the activity lucrative. He said current generation of farmers is not finding milk business as viable and the situation may lead to depend on imports like other Asian countries."So we thought if we do not take up this seriously India will become like other Asian countries such as Pakistan which depend on import of milk. We took a lead and increased price to farmer," he explained. According to Sodhi, the GCMMF currently pays including bonus Rs 34.40 for buffalo milk and Rs 22.50 for cow milk.Replying to a query on exports to European Union, Sodhi said, and conditions such as using machines for milking is deterrent for exports. "In India you cannot get milk with milking machine... it is impossible," he said. He said they expect the Rs 30,000 crore-target by 2020 will be achieved two year earlier. Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
