Panchmahals-based Panchamrut Dairy, a member union of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), has already set up a yoghurt manufacturing plant at Taloja in Maharashtra’s Raigadh district. And Amul family will be setting up three more plants in Gujarat, Delhi and West Bengal to cater to the demand of yogurt which is growing for its rich source of protein.
“The plant at Taloja has 20 tonne per day capacity. We will be setting up one plant at AmulFed Dairy, Gandhinagar, another plant in Dharuhera to cater to Delhi-National Capital Region and if required a plant at Kolkata to cater to the eastern market,” said GCMMF’s chief operating officer Jayen Mehta.
The Dharuhera dairy plant, located on Haryana-Delhi border, is run by Mehsana’s Dudhsagar Dairy while the Kolkata plant is run by Amul Dairy. AmulFed Dairy at Gandhinagar is managed by GCMMF. The dairy co-operatives will be investing nearly Rs 100 crore for setting up the plants, each having 20 tonne per day capacity, at their existing dairy complexes using French technology.
Interestingly, the market size of yoghurt in India is estimated to be around 4,000 tonne in terms of volume and Rs 150 crore in terms of value.
“Currently, yoghurt market is just a faction of the curd market in India. But it is expected to grow manifold as consumers are increasingly becoming health conscious,” he said.
“As more people are turning health conscious, people are moving towards healthier alternatives. Yogurt provides almost all the nutrients that one gets through milk. It is high in protein, high in calcium and like milk has several other nutrients,” said professor Mini Sheth from M S University’s Department of Food and Nutrition.
“Since, yoghurt is a milk product obtained from fermentation of lactobacillus bulgaricus and streptococcus thermophilus strains, it also improves gut-health. This summer, people are looking at alternatives of curd and hence the demand of yogurt has also increased,” she said.
