Amul – Summary

Introduction
Amul is an Indian dairy cooperative brand and the largest producer of milk and milk products in India. It was
founded in 1946 as a response to the exploitation of dairy farmers by middlemen and traders. The farmers of the
Kaira district in the state of Gujarat came together to form the Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers Union
Ltd, which was later be known as Amul. With the help of a dairy expert and social activist, Dr. Verghese Kurien,
the cooperative was able to improve the quality of the milk produced by the farmers and provide them with better
prices for their products.

Transformation of Indian dairy market

Just sixty years ago, our citizens in urban India had to suffer due to inadequate availability of milk as well as
hygiene and quality issues related to dairy products. However, dairy cooperative movement initiated by millions
of small and marginal dairy farmers across rural India, through awe-inspiring value-chain innovations, have not
only organized the Indian dairy industry but have also ensured wide-spread availability of high-quality, branded,
packaged milk and dairy products to consumers across the country. Indian dairy industry has gained global
recognition and world-wide respect, in which Amul has played a huge role
SOME FACTS
1. Due to the remarkable efforts of Indian dairy farmers, per-capita milk availability of India which was only
110 gm per day till 1970s, has now exceeded 315 gm per day, despite significant increase in population of
the country during the same period.
2. Today, milk is the largest agricultural crop in India with market value exceeding Rs 4 lakh crore (US $ 65
billion) per annum and the milk group contributes the highest to the total output of our agricultural sector,
surpassing the output value of wheat, rice and oilseeds.
3. Contrary to most of the developed countries, where only 35% to 38% of consumer’s dollar ultimately
flows back to the dairy farmers. In India, dairy cooperatives ensure that 80% of consumer’s rupee flows
back to the farmers

International Dairy Industry Outlook

India, being among the fastest growing dairy markets across the globe has caused Nations such as New Zealand,
Australia and EU which have sizable export surpluses in dairy sector are trying every means at their disposal to
gain access to Indian dairy market on highly favorable terms
These countries are lobbying hard for access to Indian dairy market through bilateral Free Trade Agreement
negotiations. On the other hand, India’s access to the markets of developed countries is being denied by several
non-Tariff Barriers like FMD, Brucellosis, Residue monitoring, Aflatoxin etc.
EU is also demanding GI protection of certain variety of Cheeses which are of EU origin. Many of these cheese
variants have been manufactured in India since several years and granting GI protection now, will adversely
impact both our dairy farmers as well as Indian consumers. It is pertinent to note that in entire Europe, one can find
ethnic Indian products such as paneer and lassi, which have been manufactured in dairy plants within EU.
However, EU is not willing to grant GI protection to India for these ethnic Indian dairy products.
In the 1960's, the situation was quite similar since even then, Europe was saddled with mountain of surplus milk
powder & butter stocks. In order to protect their own market, European countries were trying to dump these stocks
into market of some developing country, in guise of free aid. Instead of allowing free import of subsidized dairy
commodities, Government of India on advice of Dr. Verghese Kurien, decided to monetize this aid and use
generated funds to develop infrastructure for Indian dairy industry.
India has the potential to be the dairy to the world. Our policy makers should never allow FTA for products or raw
material which is abundantly available in India. On the other hand, modern machinery and state-of-the-art
technology which is not available in India and are necessary for the development of domestic dairy industry
should actually be brought under the purview of FTA and we can reduce duty on their import from developed
countries. This is necessary for manufacturing technologically superior dairy products for Indian consumers and
truly achieves the goal of 'Make in India'.

Amul’s performance
1. During the last five years, sales of our Federation have registered remarkable growth of 159%, which
implies an impressive cumulative average growth rate (CAGR) of 21%. In line with this notable
performance, this year, our Federation has registered an impressive growth of 14.3%, to reach Rs.20733
crores (Rs.207.33 billion).
2. The single largest food brand of India, Amul fresh milk in pouches once again registered high growth of
28%. The highly successful launch of Amul Milk in Hyderabad was a major step forward for us, as it
marked our entry into fresh milk products markets of South India.
3. Amul Cheese range retained its dominant share of Indian cheese market with impressive value growth on
28%. Launch of several exciting and innovative flavors of Amul Cheese Spread has helped to expand the
consumer base in this category.
4. Amul Mithai Mate attained high growth of 29% in consumer segment. Amul ice-cream maintained its
leadership position among ice-cream brands of India, posting growth of 27% over last year.

Societal responsibility
• During the year, we have provided technical, managerial and marketing support to Porbandar and Botad
Milk Union for establishment of dairy cooperative structure in their district.
• We have also developed a dedicated initiative to improve animal health services, by conducting health
camps and veterinary routes in Saurashtra and Kutch region.
• Amul in cooperation with GCMMF and Milk Unions have identified the gaps which are hindering the
efforts of improving milk productivity and therefore have envisioned integrated intervention to achieve
objective of higher milk productivity and production, titled Strategic Productivity Enhancement Program.

Conclusion
Amul, the dairy cooperative formed thanks to the tremendous contribution of 150 million Indian dairy Farmers,
through its dedication, ingenuity, commitment, sacrifice and sheer hard work, has ensured food-security for our
country in one of the most critical dimensions – milk and dairy products. Through the spirit of cooperation, it has
transformed a nation which, till 1970s, was struggling with severe milk scarcity and heavy dependence on import
of dairy commodities, into the largest milk producing county in the entire world. In the process, it has secured self-
sufficiency for India in dairy sector and propelled our nation towards a position of eminence on the global dairy
map.
~Maanuj Gupta
22134
BMS 1C