Amul’s entrepreneurial spirit has made it one of the strongest dairy brands in the world…reports Asian Lite News
Popular dairy brand Amul, whose tagline is ‘Taste of India’, has now launched fresh milk products on the international stage for the first time and is now ready to cater to the people in the United States.
“I am pleased to inform that Amul shall be launching its fresh milk products in the United States of America. Happy to inform that we have tied up with a 108-year-old dairy cooperative in the US – Michigan Milk Producers Association, and this announcement was done at their annual meeting on March 20 at Detroit,” said Jayen Mehta, Managing Director of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which operates Amul.
“This is for the first time Amul fresh products range will be launched anywhere outside India and in a market like the United States, which has a very strong Indian and Asian diaspora,” Mehta told ANI.
Further, he said Amul hopes to expand the brand and become the largest dairy company in line with the vision given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he attended its golden jubilee celebrations recently.
Amul’s entrepreneurial spirit has made it one of the strongest dairy brands in the world.
Addressing the gathering during the golden jubilee celebration, the Prime Minister asserted that a sapling that was planted 50 years ago by the farmers of Gujarat has become a giant tree.
Amul products are exported to more than 50 countries around the world. It has under it 18,000 milk cooperative committees, a network of 36,000 farmers, processing more than 3.5 crore litres of milk per day.
The evolution of the dairy sector in India and the stellar role played by dairy cooperatives since the launch of Operation Flood form an integral part of the country’s growth story as the country now is the largest producer of milk.
India contributes about 21 per cent to global milk production.
It is important to note that during the 1950s and 1960s the situation of India’s dairy sector was radically different as it was a milk-deficit nation and depended more on imports.
Following a visit of then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri to the Anand district of Gujarat in 1964, the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) was created in 1965 with a mandate to support the creation of the ‘Anand pattern’ of dairy cooperatives across the country through the Operation Flood (OF) programme which was to be implemented in phases.
Verghese Kurien, widely renowned as the “Father of White Revolution” in India, was the first chairman of NDDB. Along with his team, Kurien commenced work on the launch of the project which envisaged the organisation of Anand-pattern cooperatives in milk sheds across the country from where liquid milk produced and procured by milk cooperatives would be transported to cities.
Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated the success of Amul, urging the dairy brand to aim for global leadership.
Speaking to a gathering of milk producers from across Gujarat at the Motera Stadium here, the Prime Minister set a goal to double the milk processing capacity within the next five years, highlighting Amul’s current standing as the world’s eighth largest dairy.
“Amul, synonymous with trust, partnership, and farmer empowerment, represents a model of modernization and self-reliance,” said PM Modi.
The Prime Minister underscored the brand’s role in fulfilling the nutritional needs of India and its contribution to the dream of an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (Self-Reliant India). With “a vision of transforming Amul into the world’s leading dairy”, PM Modi assured full governmental support, extending a “Modi guarantee” to the endeavor.
The event also inaugurated several key dairy projects across Gujarat, marking a leap in the sector’s infrastructure. Among these were Amul Dairy Anand’s automatic UHT plant, expansions of paneer and chocolate plants, Sabar Dairy’s cheese and whey powder manufacturing plants, Sarhad Dairy’s ice-cream making plant, and Dudhdhara Dairy’s processing plant in Navi Mumbai. Additionally, the Rajkot Dairy Development Project was launched.
The Prime Minister expressed his gratitude to the cattle keepers, the unsung heroes behind Amul’s success, and lauded the cooperative model that “has enabled small cattle keepers to undertake significant tasks”. He recalled the foundational role of Sardar Patel in establishing Amul and the Gujarat Milk Marketing Federation, setting a precedent for future generations.
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