Bihar’s milk trail to NCR

Earlier this month in a packed press meet, Bihar State Milk Co-operative Federation (COMFED) announced its entry into the ever-expanding milk distribution market in the national capital region (NCR), with the introduction of its products under the Sudha brand.

With an estimated daily consumption of 70 lakh litres of milk in the Delhi region, Sudha is the latest entrant to the market, which is dominated by Amul (Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation), the country's largest food product marketing organisation, Mother Dairy (owned by National Dairy Development Board) and private players. The consumption in Delhi region is expected to touch 100 lakh litres daily by 2020.

However, it would be sometime before Sudha makes its presence felt in NCR. “It shows that competition among 20-odd state milk marketing federations is hotting up, which would be beneficial for the consumers,” an official with the department of dairy and animal husbandry told FE.

The key onus of this competition goes to Amul, which has managed to emerge as the biggest packaged milk supplier in the country during the past one decade. “Milk distribution is a volume business and we try to expand our market through an aggressive marketing network,” an official with Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) said. Thanks to the Amul model, India has emerged as the largest milk producer in the

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