India’s leading dairy cooperative GCMMF, which markets dairy products under the Amul brand, is expecting an 18 per cent growth in its turnover this fiscal year to around Rs 46,000 crore on better demand, its Managing Director R S Sodhi said.

Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF) had posted a marginal growth of 2 per cent during the 2020-21 financial year to Rs 39,200 crore despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an interview with PTI, Sodhi said: “We are expecting around 18 per cent growth this fiscal year to about Rs 46,000 crore.” The demand for all products, like butter, ice cream, milk, has improved, he added.

In volume terms also, Sodhi said the growth will be around 15 per cent. In the last financial year, the GCMMF turnover grew marginally as sales of ice cream were down 35 per cent mainly because of the nationwide lockdown during the summer to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. The commodity business of products like skimmed milk powder (SMP) was also impacted.

The cooperative sells 150 lakh litres of milk per day, of which Gujarat contributes around 60 lakh litres, Delhi-NCR 37 lakh litres and Maharashtra 20 lakh litres, he added.

It also sells milk in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Kolkata.

The GCMMF has an installed processing capacity of nearly 400 lakh litres per day.

In this fiscal year, it has hiked milk prices twice.

The GCMMF hiked milk price by Rs 2 per litre across India from July 1 due to an increase in input costs. Last week, it announced another Rs 2 per litre increase with effect from March 1, saying that milk procurement prices have gone up.

In a statement on February 28, the GCMMF had said that the increase of Rs 2 per litre translates into a 4 per cent increase in theP which is much lower than average food inflation.

“It is worthwhile to note that in the last two years Amul has made only 4% increase per annum in prices of its fresh milk category,” the GCMMF had said.

This price hike is being done due to a rise in costs of energy, packaging, logistics and cattle feed that has led to an increase in the overall cost of operation and milk production.

“Considering the rise in input costs, our member unions have also increased farmers’ price in the range of Rs 35 to Rs 40 per kg fat which is more than 5% over the previous year,” the GCMMF said.

Amul as a policy passes on almost 80 paise of every rupee paid by consumers for milk and milk products to milk producers.

“The price revision shall help in sustaining remunerative milk prices to our milk producers and to encourage them for higher milk production,” the GCMMF said.

After AMUL, leading milk suppliers Mother Dairy and Parag Milk Foods have also increased prices by Rs 2 per litre.