The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF), the marketer of Amul on Saturday said it has identified land at Vargal near Hyderabad to set up a milk processing plant with a capacity of 5 lakh litres per day (LLPD).

The upcoming plant will be done through one of the 18 GCMMF member dairy unions, Sabarkantha District Cooperative Milk Union (Sabar Dairy).

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“Very soon we are going to set up a 5-lakh litres dairy plant at Vargal about 50 km from Hyderabad. A 25-acre land is identified at the new industrial processing zone that has fantastic infrastructure. This state-of-the-art plant will process milk, ice cream, and other value-added products,” said Jayen Mehta, Managing Director, GCMMF said during a panel discussion on Making Indian Dairy Industry Competitive at the Food Conclave 2023 at Hyderabad Saturday.

The procurement of milk will take place from the dairy producers of Telangana State. businessline had earlier reported that the proposed Amul plant will have an initial capacity of five lakh litres a day and would be located in a special food processing zone in the State.

In December 2021, Sabar Dairy signed an agreement with the Telangana government to set up the facility with an estimated investment of ₹500 crore. The plant which will employ about 500 people, would also manufacture value-added dairy products such as curd, buttermilk, lassi, yoghurt, paneer, and sweets.

The session also had discussions on government support for competitiveness for the dairy industry as well as product innovation and diversification to suit the regional taste of consumers.

Speaking at the session, Manish Bandish, Managing Director, Mother Dairy stated that innovation through localisation has been gaining importance to keep organised dairy players relevant and appealing in regional markets.

“India is a diverse country with different eating habits every few kilometers. The taste changes accordingly. So, what is important is to develop a taste profile (of the product) which will suit the local consumption,” said Bandish adding that Mother Dairy has successfully implemented it in its Mishti Doi product which has strong appeal amongst the consumers having Bengali taste profile.

Amul’s Jayen Mehta underlined the importance and practical feasibility of the concept of ‘One-district One-product’ in the dairy space. In its operational area of Gujarat, Amul has tried dairy products with local-connect such as milk from indigenous Gir Cow or Mehsani Buffalo.

Mehta said, “Our different breeds are the key differentiator in our products. These all varieties have the potential to become brands in themselves. These are the products that command certain values in the minds of consumers. This is where we can add value by going region-specific and once the farmer realises that he gets a better price for that, they start turning to it.”

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