Source:tribuneindia.com

Union Minister for Food Processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal laid the foundation stone of modern dairy and ice cream unit at the Verka Milk Plant in Bathinda.
Giving information in this regard here today, the chairman of Milkfed, Amarjit Singh Sidhu said the new plant was being constructed at a cost of Rs 30 crore and it would be ready by November 2016.
Congratulating the milk producers at the event, the Union Minister announced that the Centre government would provide all possible help for the project.
She said the setting up of the plant would not only provide people with premium quality of ice cream but would also fetch handsome milk price to the dairy owners.

The chairman said the present capacity of the plant was 1 lakh litre per day, which was being augmented to 2 lakh litre per day. Besides, 250 auto-milk collection centres will be put up in villages, wherein the milk producers will get result of milk testing on the spot, it will bring transparency to the system and all the cooperative societies will be linked together through internet.
In order to maintain the right quality of milk, 16 bulk milk cooling centres are being installed in cooperative societies so that the milk procured is cooled as soon as possible. Besides, 78 buildings are also being constructed for cooperative societies.
The chairman also formally launched ‘jeera raita’ and ‘shahi dahi’ products of the Milkfed.
CPS Sarup Chand Singla, Deputy Commissioner Dr Basant Garg and many senior officials of different departments were present on the occasion.

Source:deshgujarat.com

Gujarat Co-operation Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), the leading producer of milk & milk products under the name of Amul Brand, announced the launch of Amul Milk in Gandhinagar. The affiliated member milk unions of GCMMF Ltd, in the year 2006, had decided to adopt umbrella branding of Amul for marketing pouch milk & fresh dairy products in local market within their district. Currently more than 120 lakh litres per day (LLPD) of pouch milk is sold under Amul brand across India.

Gandhinagar District Co-operative Milk Producers Union Ltd. (GDCMPU) has also decided to adopt Amul brand for marketing pouch milk & other fresh products in the district with effect from 01-Apr-2016.
The marketing of milk & entire fresh product range has been entrusted by the milk union to GCMMF which will gain synergy in marketing in the twin cities of Ahmedabad & Gandhingar.

Currently GDCMPU is selling pouch milk, dahi & butter milk under Madhur brand through its distribution network in Gandhinagar district. The sale of pouch milk under the brand name ‘Madhur’ is approx. 1.0LLPD and it has almost 98% market share in Gandhinagar city.

Sh. Jethabhai Patel, Chairman, GCMMF said, “We have identified Gandhinagar as an opportune market for our Fresh Product offerings. We would be selling pouch milk and entire range of fresh products to the 6 lac consumers of Gandhinagar district who are brand conscious and are willing to associate themselves with the strong brand name of Amul. We would be offering our best quality fresh products at affordable prices to consumers in Gandhinagar. Amul is looking to garner a dominant market share in Gandhinagar milk market.”

The existing pouch milk variants Gold, Shakti, Taaza, T-special & Cow milk along with two more new milk variants namely Amul Diamond & Amul Slim n Trim will be made available to milk consumers of Gandhinagar. Besides butter milk and dahi, GCMMF Ltd. will also introduce a range of other probiotic products like Probiotic Lassi, flavoured yoghurt (Flaavyo) & fresh paneer.

The milk parlours run by Madhur dairy will now be converted to Amul Parlours by complete revamping of design and will now provide complete range of Amul products to local consumers.

The proposed arrangement will benefit 43000 members of 116 village co-operative milk producing societies of GDCMPU Ltd. and the consumers of Gandhinagar district due to availability of a reputed Amul brand with more range of product offerings.

The sale price of pouch milk& other fresh products under Amul brand will remain unchanged. The per liter sale price of Diamond milk will be Rs. 50/-, Gold milk Rs. 48/-, Shakti milk Rs. 44/-, Taaza milk Rs. 36/- & Slim N Trim milk 270 mlpack Rs 10/-. The sale price of Amul pouch Butter milk will be Rs. 20 for 1 lt pack and Rs. 10 for 500 ml pack. The sale price of Mastidahi in 200g pouch is Rs. 13/-, 400g pouch is 25/- & 1 kg pouch pack is Rs. 50/-. The sale price of Mastidahi in cup packs is 100g Rs. 10/-, 200g Rs. 20/- & 400g Rs. 36/-. The sale price of fresh paneer 200 g pack is Rs. 57/- and 1 kg pack is Rs. 270/-. The sale price of probiotic butter milk 1 liter bottle is Rs. 45/-.

Source:newindianexpress.com

Its milk procurement pegging at 19.25 crore kg, the State Government has recorded a whopping 22 per cent growth during the financial year 2015-16.

The per day average milk procurement during 2014-15, which was around 4.44 lakh kg, went up to 5.23 lakh kg during 2015-16, according to Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Department.

This was possible due to a rise in overall milk production in the State. From 1,784,000 tonne during 2013-14, total production rose to 1,903,000 tonne in 2014-15, approximately by six per cent.

Commissioner-cum-Secretary Bishnupada Sethi presented the facts at a review meeting chaired by Chief Secretary AP Padhi who directed that all veterinary services must reach the livestock farmers of the State. The Department has to proactively provide such services including appropriate animal feeding knowledge, he said.
The Department has been aggressively carrying out artificial insemination as well as infertility camps across the State. During 2015-16, 15 lakh artificial insemination was conducted which Sethi said, was more than the target. Similarly, around 10 lakh frozen semen doses are likely to be produced by end of this year. About 628 infertility camps have been organised by the Department too.
Sethi also informed the meeting that there has been no epidemic during the last three years as animal diseases have been controlled to a large extent. The Department has also made functional 27 district and three regional laboratories to provide expert services on animal rearing and care. That apart, around 1,456 diary co-operative societies have also been provided with artificial insemination facilities.

Prof of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology Susant Das told the meeting that Odisha has been the first State to register cattle and buffalo species with National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resource (NBAGR). So far, Khariar, Ghumusari, Motou, Binjharpuri species and two buffalo species, Kalahandi and Chilika, have been registered with the agency because of their unique indigenous genetic character.

The committee also discussed the Bovine Breeding Policy which has identified establishment of embryo transfer technology laboratory, national bovine genomic centre, sex-sorted semen production technology and early pregnancy diagnosis as prioritised areas. An action plan of `32.36 crore for 2016-17 was discussed and approved in the meeting.

Source:newindianexpress.com

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday sought New Zealand’s cooperation in the dairy industry during a bilateral meeting with his New Zealand counterpart John Key here.

“The prime minister talked about our interest in having dairy technology from New Zealand,” external affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said at a media briefing here.

Modi’s meeting with Key was held on the sidelines of the fourth and final edition of the biennial Nuclear Security Summit, the first of which was held in 2010.

“As you know, New Zealand is one of the world leaders in food processing. Prime minister said that India is one of the world’s largest producers of milk,” Swarup said.

Modi said that when it came to processing milk, India was not too good and New Zealand could find a very good market in India since the food processing industry has been enabled to obtain 100 percent foreign direct investment (FDI).

Discussions between the Indian and New Zealand prime ministers also involved trade issues.

“The New Zealand prime minister said that they had concluded a very successful FTA (free trade agreement) with China some years back and he was very keen on signing an FTA with India as well,” Swarup said.

The two prime ministers also discussed the promotion of tourism between the two countries given Bollywood’s interest in New Zealand.

Modi also told Key that more and more Indian students should be encouraged to study in New Zealand as they felt safe there.

The Indian prime minister said that New Zealand could follow Australia’s example of attracting Indian students.

Modi arrived here on the second leg of his three-nation tour on Wednesday night from Brussels where he attended the 13th India-European Union (EU) Summit and held a bilateral meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel.

Leaders of 53 nations and four international organisations are attending the Nuclear Security Summit.

Source:dailypioneer.com

The Omfed had recorded sale of its paneer to the tune of 5.93 lakh kg in 2014 whereas it increased to 12.97 lakh kg in 2015, posting a 118-per cent growth. In January this year, the sale was 1,63,840 kg and in February 1,80,328 kg.

Omfed sources said customers do appreciate this product in various festivities and ceremonies, apart from using it on day-to-day cuisine. It has got a self-life of 10 days of its packing under refrigerated condition. It contains proteins, calcium, carbohydrate, energy for body maintenance, stamina and energy in the body.

“I always trust Omfed Paneer for its best quality,” said Jyoti Bahuguna,a Hindi teacher of the Delhi Public School, Kalinga.

Looking at the demand of the customers, the Omfed has decided to enhance its paneer production to 2 lakh kg per day in all its dairies, said Omfed Managing Director Bishnupada Sethi.

Source:freepressjournal.in

Milk as a consumption item has never failed to excite India. But it was Dr. Kurien who gave a new impetus to the supply side of milk as well. He did this through the NDDB (National Dairy Development Board) and the GCMMF (Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation).

And he created the Indian version of the milk co-operative movement which has transformed this country. The results are visible – India is the premier producer as well as the largest consumer worldwide. That, too, with small farmers – each having between 2-10 heads of cattle as a backyard dairy farming. More significantly, this industry grew with practically no subsidy from the government.
What makes the Indian milk movement unique is its ability to pay 80% of the market price to the farmer. Kurien ensured that everything else – milk collection, processing, packaging, distribution and marketing – was managed within 20% of the marketing cost. That made the farmer earn more, which incentivized him to produce more. For Kurien the small farmer was crucial. He believed in production by the masses, not mass production.

Milk thus provides income for farmers, nutrition for Indians, and rural prosperity for the economy. With Modi’s vision of doubling rural incomes, milk is bound to play a bigger role.

To discuss this, the FPJ-IMC Forum organised a panel discussion with experts at the Indian Merchants’ Chamber, Mumbai. The panel comprised T. Nanda Kumar, Chairman National Dairy Development Board (NDDB); R.S. Sodhi, Managing Director, GCMMF popularly referred to as Amul; Mahesh Pathak, Principal Secretary Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development & Fisheries, Government of Maharashtra; and Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist, CARE. The event was moderated by R.N.Bhaskar of FPJ with editorial support from Pankaj Joshi, and Lalit Wadhwani.

The welcome address was given by Dilip Piramal, president, Indian Merchants’ Chamber (IMC) and the vote of thanks by G. Chandrashekhar, Economic Advisor, IMC.

Significance of the milk industry

Nanda Kumar: If agriculture’s contribution to GDP is so low, why is dairy important? About 33% of agri-GDP is dairy, and more importantly, we have about 50% of people in agriculture. In Dr. Verghese Kurien’s words, we at Amul are not in the business of dairying, we are in the business of rural prosperity.

Regarding the [recent] Budget the government’s aim is to double farmers’ incomes by 2022. It is impossible to do this without dairy. Dairy is a more equitable agri-occupation. 85% of the small and marginal farmers in India own 45% of the land, but own 75% of the bovine. For a landless person, dairying is one of the best occupations.

Nanda Kumar, Chairman National Dairy Development Board (NDDB)

“Doubling farmers’ income by 2022 is impossible without dairy farming which has a CAGR of 19.6%. 85% of the farmers in India who are marginal and small own 45% of the land, but 75% of the bovine. So probably for a landless person, dairying is one of the best occupations”

In a country which is predominately vegetarian how do you handle children between six months and five years without dairy? Also, we’ve always worried about the levels of under-nutrition.

Sodhi: Today we have become not only the world’s largest producer and consumer, but also self-sufficient, because the Amul model gave all a win-win situation. India is the only country where farmers get 80-85% of what consumer pays. In most of the world, farmers get only one-third.

Processors accessed a good system to procure from millions of farmers, process it and market it. Lastly, consumers are very happy to get very hygienically packed nutritious milk at a very, very reasonable cost vis-à-vis other countries.

We have to see how we can continue to grow and how we can encourage tomorrow’s generation to go for this profession. Dairy can help in the ‘Make-in-India’, in the rural areas where most of the population lives, since you do not require much land. It can provide a livelihood source to the maximum people in rural India.

Pathak: For doubling rural incomes, animal husbandry, dairy and poultry are important. These reduce the farmer’s risk, mitigate the strain when rains are not good, keep income flowing. Our aim is that the farmers’ income comes throughout the year and not seasonally.

Sodhi: If you ensure a remunerative price on a continuous basis to the farmer, the farmer will produce milk. In Gujarat there is a district called Banaskantha, which is a very semi-arid area on the border of Rajasthan desert. About 45 years ago when co-operatives were formed there people said, when there is no water how can you produce? Today that district gives 45 lakh litres per day, which is the maximum all over India.

4-5 years ago we went to Kolkata and the people said West Bengal has no milk. Now whatever milk we are selling in Calcutta in year is procured locally.

Milk industry background

Nanda Kumar: The story of milk production growth is well known, from 22 million tonnes in 1970 to 146 million tones of milk in 2015. The monetary value of this is more than the current combined value of rice and wheat, and this was achieved without subsidy and incentives. The important element in this growth was the farmer institutions, which worked on three basic principles of ‘trust, transparency and technology’. With a base of small farmers, we are 18% of global production.

Sodhi: There was a time in the ‘seventies when you had to have the aluminum card of Delhi Milk Scheme to buy two bottles of milk – that too, if you stood in the queue two hours before the booth opened. India then was producing only 20 million tonnes of milk and this was static – we were dependent more on imports from the developed countries, Australia and New Zealand. Thanks to Dr. Kurien, the model of Amul was created, and replicated, and today we are self-sufficient, whereas most of our neighbouring countries are still importers from the same nations.

Growth opportunities

Nanda Kumar: There is a shift in food expenditure, with spend on staple cereals coming down and milk rising. Food spend today is on high value agriculture, including fruits, indicating a prosperous and aspirational India.

International studies are looking at a growth of about 19.6% CAGR till 2020 for India’s dairy market. Consensus is that India’s GDP growth cannot be below 7-8%. Combine this with urbanization. In another 8-9 years 50% of India is going to live in cities, and a hundred of them will be smart cities. Also right now we process only 20-22% of output. Any increase here will contribute to growth.

Both public and private sector can grow with the same basic principles. How transparent you are, how much trust the farmer has in you, will ultimately determine whether you can work with the farmers.

R.S. Sodhi, Managing Director, GCMMF (Amul)

“India is the world’s largest producer and consumer of milk and the only country where farmers get 80-85% of the MRP. In the ‘70s India’s production was 20 Million tonnes and per capita consumption was 110 gms. Today production is 146 Million tones and per capita consumption is 340 gms.”

Sodhi: In the ‘seventies India’s per capita consumption was 110 gm. Today it is 340 gm. along with increase in population, consumption is growing because of prosperity.

From today’s population of 1.25 billion, it is expected that by 2050 it will be around 1.7 billion. With growing consumption, if today we consume 150 million metric tonnes, by 2050 we will consume three times more. When value-added products increase, industry growth will be beyond three times in value terms. People involved in the dairy industry, whether in production, processing or marketing, are very fortunate, because it is definitely going to grow.

Pathak: Population growth, demography, rising incomes, all will keep dairy industry demand in a very comfortable position. Our target is to produce some 220 million tonnes by 2020. Private sector role is vital, especially when nearly three-fourths of the industry is unorganised. They have to enter even production, which today is substantially unorganised and hence has lot of inefficiencies. Integrated dairy farms is the next opportunity for the private sector. For co-operatives, there is opportunity in regional imbalance in the eastern, north eastern and extreme northern regions.

Recently there was a FSSAI report that almost three-fourths of the milk samples are failing the test, even for pouched milk. Most of the milk sale is non-standardized, from local suppliers, and

most of the test-checking is done on the organised sector. The move to being organised is important from the point of safety, and also from the point of better prices to the farmers.

Nanda Kumar: Uttar Pradesh is a classic case in point, where about 1% of the total milk production is procured through cooperative routes. It’s ready for large players, like Amul and

Mother Dairy. So is Eastern India which has adequate natural resources, where 27% of the cattle population gives 17% of milk. What they lack is good breeds, good institutions and probably a good marketing infrastructure.

Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist, CARE

“The dairy industry stands on four pillars 1: Output – dairy segment output is highest in value terms in the entire primary sector. 2: Demand – As rural incomes rise, a progressively larger proportion will be spent on dairy products. 3: Employment – 70-75 million  households are dependent on dairy farming. 4: Price – in 1988 the price was Rs. 2 per litre of milk, which is around Rs.40 today”

Sabnavis: Let us look at a macroeconomic model. The dairy industry stands on four pillars. First is output. The dairy segment output is highest in value terms in the entire primary sector. To grow the primary sector, focus on where the value lies. Second is demand. As rural incomes rise, a progressively larger proportion will be spent on dairy products. Demand for milk will increase, and production can grow in tandem.

Third is employment. It has been mentioned that 70-75 million households are dependent on dairy farming. To enhance employment in the rural areas, we have to look for a factor with the greatest potential. Focussing on dairy segment would help halt migration from rural to urban areas.

Fourth is price. In 1988 or 1989, price was Rs. 2 for a litre of milk, which is around Rs.40 today, quite clearly a big increase, outpacing the WPI. If you are working in this segment there’s a good chance that your income will keep increasing, it will keep pace with inflation. Also when prices of agricultural products go up, there’s a huge noise, but for dairy products nobody has ever complained about paying higher prices.

Sodhi: India’s milk consumption is 340 gm per person per day, varying across states. In the North it is 600-700 gm, in the North East, it is 100-120 gm and West will have 300-400 gm. In Europe, it is 850 gm. In India around 30-40% are malnourished, and milk is the best source of nutrition, with protein and fat.

Current global and domestic position

Sodhi: At present, the dairy industry worldwide is facing stress. In Australia and New Zealand, prices are lower by 60% compared to two years back. European prices are 30-40% lower.

There are four factors behind this. China, a large importer, has reduced imports. Russia has started to reduce or totally ban import of dairy products from European nations. Third is the in-tandem production rise in the European Union nations, which abolished their quotas on milk production in 2015, and started competing with Australia and New Zealand. The last is the crude price crash. Crude oil exporter nations are all dairy product importers.

Across India too, farmers today get 20-60% lower price of milk. But in Gujarat  – where we procure 20 million litres of milk daily – farmers are getting 2-5% more prices compared to last year, because in Gujarat 93% of the milk is converted into value-added products and marketed. With a commodity market of just 7%, farmers are not exposed to price volatility.

Sabnavis: In case we are actually self-sufficient, we can think of exports as an avenue. For this, the industry has to become more organized, convert milk into manufactured products.

Challenges to growth

Nanda Kumar: We have serious issues of low productivity, which emerge from some indigenous breeds and also from our feeding challenges. Another challenge is pressure on feed, fodder and water due to climate change. Processing and support infrastructure is far from adequate for growth of 19.6%.

There is also the new definition of food safety and its newer challenges. Maintaining quality is a task when milk is collected, processed and probably sold twice a day.

Sodhi: Gradually we will have more mouths to feed and lesser hands to produce thanks to population growth and urbanisation.

How can we encourage rural India to produce more food? How do we attract the younger generation to the dairy industry? Only if they find it commercially remunerative, and also more glamorous via modern industry techniques.

Sabnavis: Increasing cattle livestock could lead to environmental issues. Second, in India once cattle stop giving milk, we destroy them. The current ban which you have on beef – do we have the wherewithal to actually look after cattle once they stop giving milk?

Support requirements

Mahesh Pathak, Principal Secretary Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development & Fisheries, Govt of Maharashtra

“Population growth, demography, rising incomes, all will keep dairy industry demand in a very comfortable position. Our target is to produce some 220 million tonnes by 2020. Private sector role is vital, especially when nearly three-fourths of the industry is unorganised”

Pathak: For integrated animal husbandry development, we need for better hospital infrastructure, as also better extension services. Departmental allocations – for farm development, for better quality of semen and artificial insemination, for improving the producer companies, for providing dairy infrastructure – have to go up, in order to double farmer incomes. The targeted production growth will strain the feed and fodder situation.

Sabnavis: The NREGA wage can be a good support tool to compensate farmer for fodder. With the Government promoting small banks dedicated to priority lending, purchase of cattle can be financed. The National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) can provide a back-ended subsidy.

Nanda Kumar: We need a much better hold on the unorganised sector through the Food Safety Act. FSSAI should focus on loose milk and the kind of milk that is still sold in packet without branding and processing. We have to analyse the process capability of every processor to ensure that the customer gets a safe product. Strengthening institutions is something that we have to focus o

Pathak: The Government of India has given an advisory that SMP [skimmed milk powder] may be used in school education program. If The Government of India includes this in the ‘Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan’, even  one day a week is enough. Gradually we can get into the school program, but we need Government help.

With more artificial insemination we need less male animals, which will improve productivity and commercial viability.

We are working on a milking machine for a single cow, which would be an inducement for small farms and younger people. About NRLM, it is more crucial that farmer be able to sell the milk and make money.

Nanda Kumar: At the purchasing centre, you need a technology that demonstrates that the farmer is getting paid fairly. Fat content measurement, solids-not-fat (snf) measurement, transparent payment systems are important to gain trust.

Source:business-standard.com

Dairy farming as such might sound mundane, but big co-operatives are increasingly taking the help of technology heavy-weights like Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to help them track the milk system at a village level more efficiently.

The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), has taken help of satellite imaging technology to track the animal population, fodder status, as well as land use patterns at a village level. For that matter, an NDDB project won an award at the Geosmart India 2016 for developing ‘internet-based dairy geographical information system’ or IDGIS.

IDGIS is basically a strong visualisation tool, which not only enables identification of villages but also integrates human census, livestock census & land-use and land-cover of villages, in all the major milk producing states of India. It has been developed by NDDB, primarily to support the Milk Unions.

A senior NDDB official said that around 500,000 villages have been covered under the IDGIS, and this helps the milk unions to plan their village level activities more efficiently.

Anand-based NDDB has also joined hands with the Space Applications Centre-an arm of ISRO, and have completed a pilot study of fodder growing areas in Banaskantha district of Gujarat last year using satellite imaging. The move is expected to help policy makers address the issue of scarcity of cattle-fodder in the country.

NDDB informed that it is now trying to replicate the same in other areas. The project assumes significance, when we pitch this against the current fodder growing pattern in India. While India is the largest milk producing country in the world, around 80 per cent of dairy farmers are small and marginal, who typically contribute about 70 per cent of the total milk production. They, however, do not own much farm land, and as per industry estimates only 5 per cent of the country’s farmland as such is devoted to fodder farming.

ISRO had already successfullu developed the crop production forecasts (FASAL) technology, for major food crops, using remote sensing techniques. However, as the NDDB official informed fodder crops are normally grown sparsely and in very small plots by our farmers, typically one hectare or less. “This makes the job of discrimination of these crops through remote sensing quite challenging,” he added.

The pilot project at Banaskanth could estimate the area under green fodder crops in the district (81 thousand hectares) and the fallow areas & culturable wastelands (57 thousand hectares) with 77 per cent accuracy level. It also pointed out that around 35 per cent of the villages in this Gujarat district has more than 5 per cent wasteland which could be developed to grow fodder.

The official further explained that the aim of the study was that the data generated could help use available fodder optimally. That is to say, one can plan well in advance based on data on fodder availability in case of any shortage situation. Fodder prices have been escalating in the past few years and industry insiders claim that it has nearly doubled in the past ten years. Fodder shortage is estimated to rise to 400 million tonnes by 2025.

This study will now be scaled up at the state and national level.

Source:livemint.com

Nestle India Ltd, the local arm of Swiss packaged food company, is planning to launch new dairy products in the next couple of months as part of its strategy to cut dependence on Maggi instant noodles that accounted for about 30% of its total sales in 2014. In the quarter ended 31 December, the company launched two new chocolate products.

The plan to diversify and reduce dependence on Maggi sales was spelled out by Suresh Narayanan immediately after he came to India as the chairman and managing director of the company in July last year. At that time, Nestle India was caught in a controversy after India’s food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) banned the sale of Maggi on 5 June, citing the presence of flavour enhancer monosodium glutamate and excess lead.

Nestle India could not sell the product for six months in 2015.

“We are aiming to expand our product range with this launch,” Nikhil Chand, general manager (chocolates and confectionery), Nestlé India, said, commenting on the company’s just-launched chocolate KIT KAT Duo.

Over the next few quarters, Nestle has lined up a few product launches in dairy, chocolate and confectionery categories.

“The focus will be on adding value to existing products and strategic new launches,” Narayanan said on 10 March, on the sidelines of a public event organised by an industry lobby group.

Nestle relaunched Maggi noodles in November but is yet to regain its market share.

The company has managed to cover 75-80% of distribution and results would be visible in the coming quarters, Narayanan had said.

In January, Maggi noodles had a 42% market share, as compared with 77% a year ago, according to a report in The Economic Times on 22 February that cited Nielsen data.

For the year to December (Nestlé India follows a January-December accounting year), net profit fell 52% to Rs.563.27 crore.

“The company faced an unusual situation with Maggi Noodles that impacted its operations during the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters. The results for the year and for the 4th quarter ended 31 December, 2015 are not fully comparable with the results of the previous corresponding periods,” Nestlé India said in its latest annual result statement.

Equity analysts remain positive about Nestle India’s performance. “We remain positive on Nestlé from 2-3 years perspective, being a strong play on urban revival. But over medium term the company’s margins and volumes will remain under pressure,” Edelweiss Securities analyst Abneesh Roy said in a note on 15 February.

Source:prameyanews7.com

On the backdrop of violation of pollution norms by OMFED and the subsequent notification of the Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) to ensure proper treatment of the waste water before discharge, in the latest developments OSPCB has asked OMFED to set up a waste treatment plant within 11 months.

The OSPCB has issued a notice to the leading dairy producer in the State, asking it to ensure strict compliance of anti-pollution measures, treatment facility of waste water before releasing the effluents to water bodies.

The OSPCB has agreed to grant OMFED 11 months time period for establishing a treatment plant while it has said, that it would inspect the undergoing construction process and thereafter the treatment process every four months, said Regional Director of OSPCB Hadibandhu Panigrahi.

Notably, the pollution levels of effluents discharged from OMFED plant was found to be out of limits. That it may certainly pose major health risks to the city dwellers, as it kept polluting Kuakhai and its tributaries, so the issue on getting highlighted by the media, the OSPCB had issued a show cause notice and asked OMFED to establish a treatment plant at the earliest.

Source:livemint.com

Milk Mantra Dairy Pvt. Ltd, an Odisha-based company, is in talks with private equity firm Samara Capital to raise Rs.200 crore to fund its expansion, according to two persons in the know.

The company, whose products include milk, buttermilk, curd and milkshakes under the Milky Moo brand, is backed by Fidelity Growth Partners, which will exit through the new fund-raising round. The promoters will also divest some stake to raise growth capital for the company.

The new investor will acquire a significant minority stake in Milk Mantra, one of the persons cited above said, on condition of anonymity. Milk Mantra has hired advisory firm KPMG India to find potential investors, the second person said, also on condition of anonymity.

The firm’s revenue was about Rs.100 crore in FY15; the deal is expected to be signed at a valuation of Rs.500 crore, the second person added.

With this funding, Milk Mantra which already markets ready-to-drink milk beverage MooShake in markets such as Bengaluru, plans a pan-India presence.

In 2014, Milk Mantra raised series C funding of Rs.80 crore, led by Fidelity Growth Partners India and Aavishkaar India II Co. Ltd. The transaction provided an exit to angel investors and Aavishkaar India Micro Venture Capital Fund.

When contacted, Srikumar Misra, the company’s founder, managing director and chief executive officer, refused to speak about the fund-raising plans. Mails sent to Fidelity and Samara Capital spokespersons remain unanswered. A KPMG India spokesperson, too, declined to comment. Vineet Rai, chief executive officer and managing director, Aavishkar Inc., a venture capital firm focused on India’s rural areas and underserved parts, said it has no immediate plans to exit Milk Mantra.

Founded in 2009, Milk Mantra collects milk from a network of more than 20,000 farmers across more than 500 villages. In 2014, it acquired Westernland Dairy in Sambalpur, to get access to western Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh markets. The firm currently has two processing plants at Konark and Sambalpur districts in Odisha.

Demand for milk in India is expected to grow at a compounded annual rate of 5% from 138 million tonnes (MT) in 2014 to 200 MT in 2022, according to the National Dairy Development Board, drawing attention of several international firms and private equity investors.

“Strong demand prospects in Indian dairy, driven by formalisation of the basic dairy products and growth of the value-added dairy products, will continue to attract private equity and strategic investors. Companies with strong milk procurement infrastructure and direct farm engagement will be the intended targets for acquisition and partnerships. These companies will also attract premium on the valuations,” said Shiva Mudgil, senior dairy analyst and vice-president, food and agribusiness research and advisory at Rabobank.

Earlier this month, Groupe Lactalis SA, the world’s-largest dairy player, made its second buyout in India by acquiring the dairy division of Indore-based diversified public listed Anik Industries Ltd for Rs.470 crore. Anik Industries’ dairy division markets products such as spray-dried milk, ghee, skimmed powder and whole milk under the Anik and Sourabh brands.

In 2014, the $18-billion Lactalis had acquired a 100% stake in Hyderabad-based Tirumala Milk Products Pvt. Ltd from its founders and private equity firm The Carlyle Group in a deal worth $270 million. IDFC Alternatives’ $28.8 million investment in Parag Milk Foods Pvt. Ltd in 2012; a $25 million investment in Prabhat Dairy Ltd by Rabobank’s India Agribusiness Fund and French development finance institution Proparco in 2013; and Cargill Ventures’ $20.3 million investment in Dodla Dairy Ltd in 2012 are among the larger deals that have been concluded in the sector.