Amul to treble cheese production capacity

Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which owns and markets Amul brand of milk and milk products in India, plans to triple its cheese production capacity over the period of next two years.

"At present our cheese production capacity is under pressure and as a result we have decided to treble the same over next two years," said R S Sodhi, managing director, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF).

Amul's cheese production capacity currently stands at 40 tonnes per day, which will be increased to 120 tonnes per day. It may be mentioned here that Amul is the market leader in Rs 600 crore cheese market in India with 65-66 per cent market share.

GCMMF currently operates one cheese production plant at Khatraj in Kheda district of Gujarat.

According to dairy sector experts, the demand for cheese is gradually increasing but the penetration of the product in Indian market is very low. "Even in urban areas, the penetration of cheese is around 5 to 6 per cent," added Sodhi.

Industry players cite affordability as one of the reasons for lower penetration.