?Amul to set up Rs 250 cr processing plant in West Bengal
?Amul to set up Rs 250 cr processing plant in West Bengal

The Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union, the owners of Amul, is setting up a Rs 250 crore processing plant in West Bengal, and is expanding operations in the state’s districts and also foraying into Bihar and Assam, officials said.

R. Chattopadhyay, Officer on Special Duty, Amul Dairy, Kolkata, said, “We are expanding milk procurement operations in districts like Malda, Darjeeling, Howrah and East Midnapore in Bengal. This apart, we are foraying into milk procurement in Bihar and both procurement and processing in Assam."

According to Dipak Chakrabarty, Officer on Special Duty, the processing plant with a capacity of one lakh litres per day (LLPD) is under construction in Guwahati.

Chakrabarty said, “Milk collection will be 15,000 to 20,000 litres per day. We are targeting for first 90 days an initial output of 50,000 litres per day. Our target is one lakh litres per day."

He said, "In Bihar, the collection target is 30,000 to 40,000 litres per day."

As for Bengal, a processing plant of 10 LLPD capacity, expandable up to 15 LLPD, with a total outlay of about Rs 250 crore, is being set up at Food Park, Sankrail, over 16.7 acres of land purchased from the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC), the officials said.

Chattopadhyay said, “Products like milk, fermented products, ice cream, UHT milk, white butter and ghee would be manufactured in this plant, which should be completed by 2018."

The brand will also launch its fresh paneer in Bengal before the Durga Puja.

Chakrabarty added, “The business turnover under the Kolkata operation touched Rs 1,650 crore by March 2017. We are targeting Rs 1,900 crore by March 2018.

 
Stay on top – Get the daily news from Indian Retailer in your inbox
Also Worth Reading