The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, which is known for its dairy products sold under the Amul brand, is anticipating a revenue growth of 20% this fiscal year, reaching approximately INR 66,000 crore, due to an increase in demand, according to Managing Director Jayen Mehta.
The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) has reported a turnover of INR 55,055 crore in the fiscal year 2022-23, indicating a growth of 18.5% compared to the previous year.
The Managing Director of GCMMF stated in an interview with PTI that the company had experienced a substantial increase in revenue last fiscal year due to a significant rise in demand for branded dairy products following the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We expect the sales momentum to continue across our product portfolio. Demand is shifting from unorganised to organised players,” he said.
Mehta emphasized that the federation is concentrating on expanding its organic food and edible oil businesses, which currently make up a small part of their operations.
Asked about milk prices, Mehta said, “We have no plans to increase rates as of now.”
Mehta highlighted that the cooperative has witnessed a 15% increase in input costs over the past year, leading to a slight retail price hike last year.
According to the GCMMF MD, the cooperative refrained from hiking prices in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. However, prices were increased several times last year as the input costs went up by 15%.
Around 80% of the retail prices are passed on to dairy farmers by the GCMMF.
According to Mehta, the milk procurement by GCMMF saw a rise in March and is expected to increase further in the current month.
“Farmers are getting good prices. So, milk supply is improving,” he said, the flush season will also start soon in south India, which will boost supply.
According to Mehta, the demand for dairy products rose significantly in 2022 after the Covid pandemic, and this trend is expected to continue, although the rate of growth may moderate this year due to the base effect. He also mentioned that the demand-supply balance is expected to remain stable in the near future.
According to the Managing Director, the GCMMF currently operates 98 milk processing plants with a daily installed capacity of 470 lakh litres across India, while its average daily milk collection is 270 lakh litres. He further added that the federation plans to expand its capacity by 30-40 lakh litres per day over the next two years.
Last fiscal, the GCMMF witnessed a 21% rise in fresh product sales, which make up 50% of its overall turnover, according to recent reports. Additionally, the federation’s ice cream range experienced an impressive 41% increase in sales.
“We have achieved volume sales growth in all product categories. Pouch milk, which is the highest turnover product, has shown volume growth in double digits. Apart from this, our products like butter, ghee, ice cream, UHT milk, flavoured milk, paneer and fresh cream have also shown double-digit growth,” Mehta had said recently.