49th Annual General Body Meeting

CHAIRMAN'S SPEECH

Dear Board Members,

I am happy to welcome you all to the 49th Annual General Meeting of your federation being held in its Golden Jubilee year to present its Annual Report. Created in 1973-74 with the vision to strengthen the cooperative model of Gujarat, GCMMF has been working not only as an apex body, but also as a pivot in multiplying the efforts that each dairy cooperative has relentlessly put in at their respective districts. Starting the journey with just 6 Member Unions and a turnover of 121 Crores, today, we have within Gujarat 18 Member Unions, collecting more than 3 Crores Liters of milk per day and having an unduplicated turnover of Rs.72,000 Crores (USD 9 Billion), making it the largest FMCG brand in India.

In the last 50 years, we have been successful in standing true to the principle of being a bridge between dairy farmers and the consumers, by being innovative in our marketing and distribution efforts and developing new products catering to the evolving demands of the customer.

The vision with which GCMMF was set up by our 6 founding fathers – Shri Tribhuvandas Patel, Shri Motibhai Chaudhari, Shri Galbabhai Patel, Shri Bhurabhai Patel, Shri Jagajivandas Patel, Shri Jashwantlal Shah & Dr. Verghese Kurien made Amul the most loved brand by every Indian across generations. The Amul model of dairy development has also made India proud across the world in creating a commercially self-sustainable (Atmanirbhar) model for the socio-economic development of the dairy farmer. Today, we can proudly say that the dairy farmers of Gujarat have created a model that few can dream of, a brand truly owned by 36 lakh dairy farmers.

Beyond capturing market share or competing with established FMCG behemoths, we believe that it is the dairy farmers’ interest that we have consistently put forward. We have maximised returns on milk supplied by the dairy farmers and provide incentives for better quality of milk. During the pandemic, we ensured that milk procurement did not stop, dairy farmers were compensated, and employees were taken care of. We continue to pay our dairy farmers the highest realization of the consumer’s price viz. for every Rs. 100 a consumer spends on Amul products, Rs. 80-85 goes back to the dairy farmer.

World Milk Production Situation:

The global milk production landscape has witnessed significant changes in recent years. Milk remains an essential part of the human diet, and its demand continues to grow. According to recent data, the world milk production reached approximately 930 million tons in 2022. This growth can be attributed to the increasing population, rising per capita income, and changing dietary patterns across various regions. World milk production is projected to grow at 1.6% p.a. to 1100 million tonnes by 2033 while India currently contributes 24% of the world milk production it will become more than 30% by 2033.

India's Milk Production Situation:

India, being the largest milk-producing country in the world, has made substantial contributions to this global trend. Our country has a rich heritage of dairy farming, and it has consistently registered impressive growth in milk production. As per the latest provisional data from Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD), in 2022, India's milk production reached a remarkable milestone of 222 million tons with a growth rate of 5.2 percent, representing a significant increase over the years. The value contribution of dairy is more than the combined contribution of wheat, paddy, and pulses. This achievement is a testament to the efforts and dedication of our dairy farmers, who have embraced modern dairy farming techniques, adopted scientific breeding practices, and received support from dairy cooperatives across the country.

The Hon. Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi and Hon’ble Minister for Home and Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah have envisioned the need for White Revolution 2.0 based on the Amul model, to set up additional 2 lac primary cooperative societies to empower millions of dairy farmers across the country in the next 5-7 years. This initiative will enable India to provide nourishment to billions of consumers across the world and protect the future of our dairy farmers.

Women Power – The Backbone of Cooperatives

The dairy cooperatives of Gujarat have a unique feature that sets them apart from other cooperatives in India. Women have been the backbone of these cooperatives, playing an instrumental role in their success. The cooperative model has empowered women by providing them with a platform to participate in decision-making, access to training, and a steady source of income.

Our dairy cooperatives have made significant efforts to encourage women's participation and promote gender equity. They have provided training and support to women in dairy farming and processing. These have also been instrumental in empowering women by giving them access to technical knowledge, financial literacy, and business management skills.

Amul is the institutional partner of the W20 event, as a part of G20 Summit, during India's presidency under the leadership of Hon'ble Price Minister Shri Narendra Modi. As part of this, an event was held in Anand on 20th July 2023 on the theme of Jan Bhagidari - Women-led Sustainable Development through Dairy Cooperatives.

This event helped to demonstrate to various countries across the globe, the journey of success of Amul and India’s dairy development, which is complete only with the contribution of millions of women dairy farmers, who have made India proud as the largest producer of milk in the world.

Enhancing India's Cooperative Sector: Benefits of the Ministry of Cooperative Development

The establishment of a dedicated Ministry of Cooperative Development in India, led by the Hon’ble Minister of Home & Cooperation Shri Amit Shah, marks a significant step towards empowering the cooperative sector. By fostering policy support, providing financial assistance, promoting capacity-building initiatives, enhancing the regulatory framework, and facilitating international cooperation, the ministry plays a pivotal role in promoting the growth and sustainability of cooperatives across the country.

The Ministry of Cooperation, Govt. of India has made significant strides in promoting the cooperative sector by establishing three multi-state cooperatives.

1. National Co-operative Exports Ltd (NCEL): GCMMF (Amul Federation) has become chief promoter in the formation of NCEL along with IFFCO, KRIBHCO, NAFED and NCDC. The NCEL has the primary objective of being an umbrella organization for exports of goods from the co-operative sector and to get better prices for its members.

2. National Co-operative Organics Limited (NCOL): GCMMF (Amul Federation) along with NDDB, NAFED, NCDC and NCCF have set up NCOL to promote organic business through cooperatives across the country. It will provide institutional support for aggregation, certification, testing, procurement, storage, processing, branding, labelling, packaging, logistic facilities, marketing of organic products and arranging financial assistance to the organic farmers.

3. Bhartiya Beej Sahkari Samiti (BBSS): It will play a crucial role in the agricultural sector by focusing on seed production, distribution, and research. These efforts will contribute significantly to the agricultural sector's growth, food security, and the welfare of Indian farmers.

These 3 cooperatives will serve as powerful platforms for collaboration, resource-sharing, and collective action among cooperative organizations across multiple states. Furthermore, it encourages knowledge exchange, fosters best practices, and facilitates capacity-building initiatives for cooperative members, leading to the overall growth and development of the cooperative sector in India.

Future Trends in the Dairy Industry:

As we look ahead, it is essential to recognize the emerging trends in the dairy industry and position ourselves to leverage these opportunities. The future of the dairy industry is driven by changing consumer preferences, technological advancements, and sustainable practices. Here are a few key trends that we anticipate:

1. Health and Wellness: There is a growing demand for a range of high protein, low-fat, and lactose-free dairy products. We have launched High Protein Buttermilk, High Protein Lassi, Lactose Free Sweets, Sugar Free range of Cookies, Ice Creams, Flavored Milk and Lassi which have been received well by our consumers. We are committed to meeting these evolving consumer needs by expanding our product portfolio and will continue to invest in its research and development.

2. Sustainable Practices: In India, we are creating a circular economy in each village wherein the cow becomes a solution rather than a problem to control the ills of greenhouse gas emission and protect our environment. Our cattle have been consuming ruffages which, if left unused, would have been burnt and caused pollution. Also, by using the cow dung we have converted it into biogas thus reducing usage of firewood in cooking in villages as well as ensuring energy consumption are controlled within the household of the farmer. The cow dung is also a source of chemical free fertilizer which will also help us to produce agricultural produce bereft of any harmful chemicals.

3. Digital Transformation: Technology is revolutionizing every industry, and the dairy sector is no exception. We are embracing digital solutions to enhance our operational efficiency, optimize supply chain management, and improve traceability throughout the value chain.

• The farmer app provides information related to the milk poured and the payment transferred to their bank accounts and acts as a marketplace for online cattle trading without intermediary intervention.
• For our consumers we have developed ‘Locate Amul’ which provides information related to availability of our products in their nearest stores.
• Amul Dairy Trade helps in the sale of commodity products to B2B customers, this has created a transparent system which facilitates market price discovery.
• Lastly, we started our D2C platform (https://shop.amul.com/) through which we sell a range of dairy products daily.

4. Value-Added Products: The demand for milk and value-added dairy products, such as cheese, butter, ghee, milk powders, curd, paneer, and ice cream, continues to grow. We will continue to invest in expanding our product range and production capacities to meet future demands and strengthen our presence in domestic and international markets.

5. Domestic Expansion: The growing population of India along with its increasing per capita income will be the impetus for our organization’s growth in the coming years. We have envisaged a strategic initiative to be present in every city, town, and village of india. The 1st phase of this program will ensure our presence in any city or town which is among the top 200 populated in the country. We are setting up our branches, distribution centers for the Fresh, Ambient, Refrigerated and Frozen category of products.

6. International Expansion: The global dairy market offers significant growth potential. We are presently present in 50+ countries and are exploring opportunities to expand our presence in strategic markets. We are also looking at strategic partnerships such as in Sri Lanka among many others to tap into these opportunities.

7. Diversification into a Food FMCG: As a farmer organization, we envision bringing every agricultural produce of our farmers into the kitchens of our consumers through a variety of products. The categories range from organic aata, rice and pulses, chocolates, breads, rusks, cookies, ready-to-cook dairy and potato-based snacks, and honey.

We are constantly preparing for every opportunity and challenge that may come our way and with our robust and agile systems and processes we will ensure that we reach out to our customers across the world and reach the target of Rs. 1 lakh crores turnover in coming two years.

In conclusion, I am proud to say that GCMMF has achieved remarkable milestones in the past year and will continue to strive to greater heights while providing the best quality products to our customers and highest remuneration to our dairy farmers. These efforts by our farmers and our employees will lead us to provide nourishment for our consumers and enable us to celebrate the next 50 years of serving the nation. .

REVIEW OF OPERATIONS

Milk Procurement

During FY 2022-23 milk procurement by member unions of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF) averaged 259.6 lakh kilograms (25.9 million kg) per day, representing a growth of –1.8% over an average of 263.6 lakh kilograms (26.4 million kg) per day achieved during 2021-22. The highest procurement was recorded during February 2023 at 300 lakh kilograms (30.0 million kg) per day. Despite being a challenging year for milk procurement, we grew by 18.5% by making proper use of our inventory to make a range of milk and milk products and increasing our distribution presence.

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. Our initiative in promoting the concept of commercial, scientific, cooperative dairy farming also helps retain the next generation of dairy farmers in the business.

Sales

We achieved a turnover of Rs. 55,070 crores (USD 7 billion) during the year 2022-23, implying growth of 18.5%. In fact, our group turnover, which is the unduplicated sales of all products under brand Amul reached Rs. 72,000 crores (USD 9 billion) in 2022-23. Our milk-based beverages business grew by 34% in value terms. Our ice-cream business also saw a sharp revival with a more than 40% value growth in 2022-23. Our flagship brand Amul Butter grew by 19%, while our Ghee consumer packs grew by more than 9%, in value terms. We achieved 20% value growth in Amul long life milk, 17% value growth in Amul Cream, 40% value growth in Amul Dahi, 16% value growth in fresh Buttermilk and impressive 20% value growth in our largest product category, Amul fresh milk. We also achieved high volume growth in most of our consumer product categories.

I am pleased to inform you that Amul has taken the lead by making Amul Buttermilk “Probiotic” to become the largest Probiotic brand in the world. This will give additional health benefits by increasing immunity and digestion to the consumer besides thirst quenching. To meet consumer expectations, we have also introduced Amul Mango Lassi in pouch, Cow and Buffalo milk variants, Fruit Yoghurt, Masala Buttermilk, Rabri and expanded the markets.

Amul Ice Cream maintained the position of No. 1 Ice Cream brand in India posting a growth of 41% over last year. We are bringing ‘The Flavours of The World’ to India through our newly launched ‘Amul ICE LOUNGE,’ which is our International Ice cream parlour. The first Amul Ice Lounge parlour was launched at Phoenix Market city, Pune and we are getting overwhelming response from our consumers. We are planning to launch 100 such international parlours in the coming months.

Today in India, generic and lifestyles diseases have increased over past decades due to rampant use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in the production of our food. Organic products serve as a solution to many of such health ailments that our consumers are facing today. This is the need of the hour for our nation, and so we have entered the category of Organic Food products. We have started with launch of Organic staples including Organic Basmati Rice, Organic Toor Dal, Organic Chana Dal, Organic Masoor Dal, Organic Moong, Organic Rajma, Organic Besan, and Organic Kabuli Chana.

Amul Organic products are made from the 100% certified organic inputs which are completely pesticide free. The products go through a thorough procedure of lab testing for multiple times to make sure that the product is as per organic standard laid down by the Government of India. To generate public awareness about the health benefits of organic food, we have initiated marketing campaigns across digital, print, and television channels.

We also launched several new and exciting products such as Amul Sport, High Protein Lassi and Buttermilk, cookies, and bakery products in multiple markets to cater to the increasing demand for healthy and nutritious value-added dairy products.

Distribution Network

We have envisaged on a journey of reaching across to our consumers across various geographical areas, and age groups in a strategic manner. By focussing on Top 200 towns in terms of population, we will ensure that we are able to meet competition in every town across every consumer segment. This has in fact strengthened our resolve as we saw our unique & robust distribution model adapting to the demands of the market and delivering rapid growth.

With the objective of moving closer to the market as well as have better & close monitoring we have been opening new sales branches as well as realigning our sales zones territories. Moving on the same we have opened 6 sales branches viz Mumbai MFS, Kalyani, Bongaigaon, Jamshedpur, Bengaluru MFS & Delhi Retail during last year taking our total branch count to 82. We have also planned to add 8-9 branches in the coming year as well. To ensure efficiency in operations as well as better monitoring we realigned branches to 13 sales zones by adding new sales zones at Patna & Bhubaneswar. Working ahead on expansion drive, our motive of being closer to the consumers and to encash upon the added infrastructure availability, your federation continues to add additional Wholesale Distributors (WD) and Area Milk Distributors (AMD) in the current year.

This year, we have also restarted our Amul Yatra programme post COVID, through which we intend to make our business associates aware about the co-operative institutions, their philosophy and infrastructure.

Exports

It is my immense pleasure to inform you all that we have continued our growth in consumer packing products and achieved more than 20% growth. We added Tanzania, Ghana, Mozambique, Haiti & Republic of Congo to our list of export market. This year we will continue to focus on consumer pack exports and further expand to newer markets. p>

Integration of Information Technology Operations

We wish to inform you that Distributor Management System (DMS) has been successfully implemented across our WDs and our distributor salesperson books order on mobile by using Sales Force Automation (SFA) while servicing 10 lakh retail outlets. We have also implemented mobile-based DMS solution for WDs in rural areas as well as small WD for capturing secondary sales data. This has helped us to monitor 90% of the retail market across India. Based on the success of DMS, we have also started our In-House Distributor Management System for our Fresh Products which implemented at all AMD locations across India who are covering 100% of our business.

To further enhance our market working efficiency our entire sales force is extensively using our internally developed technology supported tools viz Amul Dashboard, Amul Track, Amul Store Locator, Amul Cart etc. These tools add on to the information available from DMS and facilitate precise action plan leading to better and faster results with limited resources.

Commendable progress has been made by your federation to implement Amul Automatic Milk Collection System (AMCS) application at Village Dairy Cooperative Societies (VDCS). A total of 22,500 village societies have been covered in the project thus far. We have also launched Pashudhan app is launched to facilitate trading of cattle among all registered farmers of Gujarat.

Cooperative Development Programmes

Our member unions have implemented the Internal Consultant Development (ICD) programme for promoting leadership among member producers. Till date, 13,135 VDCS have prepared their Mission Statement and Business Plan under the Vision Mission Strategy (VMS). We have developed various initiatives to improve the productivity of cattle as well improve the financial viability for our dairy farmers which are listed below:

1. Sex-Sorted Semen technology aims to increase the number of female calves through Artificial Insemination. During the year, more than 3.4 lakh (0.34 million) Sex Sorted Doses (SSD) have been utilised.

2. Embryo Transfer Technology is a tool for rapid genetic improvement in dairy animals through implanting embryos (surrogacy) produced from a genetically superior bull and donor cow. Till date, our member unions have transferred more than 2600 embryos of different breeds.

3. Strategic Productivity Enhancement helps improve the progeny of the upcoming generation of dairy cattle. It has been implemented in 5,369 villages, covering 38.6 lakh (3.86 million) animals. FIP-XV, the Fertility Improvement Programme (FIP), is being successfully implemented in 4,226 selected villages covering 4.09 lakh (0.41 million) animals.

4. Ethnoveterinary Preparations Programme have been implemented the as an alternative medical stream, taking into consideration its cost, availability of ingredients at farm level and effectiveness in treatment of various diseases/conditions at the field.

In collaboration with the Government of Gujarat (GoG) we have initiated programs to improve the health of young children, adolescent girls, and pregnant and lactating mothers, among others.

1. We are currently supplying approximately 13,000 MT/month of Take-Home Ration (THR) products. We have also initiated the supply of AYUSH THR (made with added ayurvedic ingredients) to a few districts of Gujarat on a pilot basis.

2. The GoG through its Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and our 3 member unions provides 1220 MT of Fortified Wheat Flour, in 36,000 Anganwadi's.

3. Doodh Sanjeevani Yojana is an initiative to tackle malnourishment and GCMMF through its member unions have implemented distribution of fortified flavoured milk in 85 talukas of 19 districts in Gujarat and have covered around 24.50 lakh (2.45 million) beneficiaries.

Cattle Feed

With the objective to help milk producer farmers to optimize milk production and maintain overall health of their animals, we developed and marketed diverse types of cattle feed, and feed supplements. Based on the different life cycle stages, milk producing capacity and type of milch animal, we have developed a wide range of cattle feed.

We have developed Jeevan Milk Replacer Powder and calf feed for calves, pregnancy feed for Pregnant animals, BIS Type-1 (Amul Super Dan) and BIS Type-2 (Amul Power Dan) feed for milking animals, Buffalo Feed for Buffaloes, Nutri Power Mixture and Nutri Power Pellet for high yielding animals.

In addition to that we are also marketing feed supplements like chelated mineral mixtures, fertility improvement powder, anionic mineral mixture for pregnant animals, bypass fat for energy boost after calving, salt licks, rumen buffer and heat stress reliever.

Acknowledgements

Before closing, it is my duty to thank all those who have helped to make our Federation’s operations successful.

We are extremely grateful to the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Minister for Home and Cooperation Shri Amit Shah, Hon’ble Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Parshottam Rupala, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Gujarat Shri Bhupendrabhai Patel and Hon'ble Minister of State (Cooperation), Government of Gujarat Shri Jagdish Vishwakarma for their constant support and guidance. We express our appreciation of the Government of India for the immense support received from various ministry and departments, particularly the Ministry of Cooperation, the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development. We also convey special thanks to NCDC (National Cooperative Dairy Corporation) for providing valuable support to our village dairy cooperative societies. We are also thankful to the Government of Gujarat, especially the Agriculture, Farmers Welfare & Co-operation Department for their supportive and facilitating role.

The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) has contributed to our growth and development and the National Cooperative Dairy Federation of India (NCDFI) has been providing us with invaluable support in coordination with other agencies and organisations. We are incredibly grateful to both of them.

The Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA), as always, has contributed to the perspective building and professionalisation of the management of the cooperative sector. We express deep gratitude for this contribution they have made.

We are indebted to Vidya Dairy for having organised training programmes on dairy technology for our employees. We are also grateful to Anand Agriculture University and SMC College of Dairy Science, Anand, for strengthening the dairy cooperative sector by providing technically skilled workforce. We also express our sincere thanks to the College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, Anand. Our advertising agencies, bankers, insurers, management consultants, suppliers, and transport contractors have been of immense help to us in managing our growth and are our partners in success. We acknowledge their contributions and commit ourselves to continue and strengthen this fruitful alliance in all times to come.

The Indian Railways has played a crucial role in the growth of our dairy cooperatives since inception. We thank them for their continuous support. We depend on the efficiency of our WC&F agents, distributors, retailers, and most important of all, the patronage of our consumers, who have come to regard our brands as synonymous with quality and value. While thanking them for their support, we assure them that we shall strive endlessly to delight them.

Our Member Unions are our strength. We thank them for their guidance, support, and cooperation without which we would not exist. Lastly, we thank the officers and staff of our Federation for their continued perseverance, loyalty and unflinching efforts devoted to our cause.

Thank you.

For and on behalf of the Board of Directors,

Shamalbhai B. Patel

Chairman

Click below for the other speeches: