Amul cooperative's group turnover rises 15% to Rs 61,000 crore

Ahmedabad: Amul cooperative's group turnover rose 15 per cent year-on-year to Rs 61,000 crore in 2021-22, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) said on Tuesday.

It had reported a turnover of Rs 53,000 crore in the preceding fiscal, said GCMMF, which markets products under the Amul brand.

According to the federation, GCMMF and its constituent member unions registered a group turnover of Rs 61,000 crore in 2021-22, a rise of Rs 8,000 crore compared to Rs 53,000 crore in 2020-21.

GCMMF registered a turnover of Rs 46,481 crore in 2021-22, a rise of 18.46 per cent compared to the preceding financial year on the back of a rapid post-pandemic recovery in out-of-home consumption and demand from restaurants, catering, travel and hospitality segments, it said.

"Amul cooperative movement celebrated its 75th anniversary by achieving group turnover of Rs 61,000 crore, further consolidating its position as the largest food and FMCG brand in India," GCMMF said after its 48th annual general meeting.

After its AGM, GCMMF Chairman Shamalbhai Patel informed that the federation achieved 18.46 per cent growth in turnover during 2021-22, which was even higher than the 16 per cent CAGR over the last 12 years.  "Over the last 12 years, our milk procurement has increased by a phenomenal 190 per cent. This impressive growth was a result of the high milk procurement price – which has increased by 143 per cent during this 12-year period – paid to our farmer-members.

"The highly remunerative price helped us retain farmers' interest in milk production, and better returns from dairying have motivated them to enhance their investments in this sector," the chairman added.

He said that the cooperative is expanding in fresh products (milk, curd and buttermilk), and it will set up a new dairy plant in Rajkot, Gujarat, at an investment of Rs 500 crore. 

"Within two years, large dairy plants will also come up in Baghpat, near Delhi, Varanasi, Rohtak and Kolkata," Patel added.

GCMMF Managing Director RS Sodhi said the return of out-of-home consumption resulted in high growth across most product categories. 

"Our milk-based beverages business grew by 36 per cent in value terms, despite the peak summer season of 2021 being impacted by the second wave of COVID-19. Our ice-cream business also saw a sharp revival with a more than 50 per cent value growth in 2022," he said.

Amul's flagship brand Amul Butter grew by 17 per cent and the ghee business grew by more than 19 per cent in value terms, Sodhi added.  Sodhi further said that Amul has launched the latest initiative to encourage farmers to adopt organic farming and natural farming, and is committed to providing market linkage and technical assistance to such farmers.  "In addition to this, organic vegetables and fruits will also be launched in the market soon. Special testing labs will be set up by Amul across India to enable all farmers involved in organic and natural farming to test their farm produce at reliable and affordable rates," he said.