Amul to enter Southern region

Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) that markets brand Amul aims to shift its focus from North Eastern belt to the down south. Since decades, Amul has avoided to enter the Southern India market owing to the strong presence of the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF). It is country's second largest milk co-operative after GCMMF. But, now the company is targeting the southern belt as well. Hyderabad will be the first major market in South India, apart from Gwalior and Guhati, which Amul is looking to tap. "Our immediate plans are for Gwalior, Guwahati and Hyderabad where we will be hiring processing plants," informed by GCMMF's managing director R S Sodhi.

As per the expansion strategy, company has launched its fresh milk in Goa this week. For Hyderabad market, where the demand of milk is over ten lakh litres per day, plans are being finalized by the Rs 19,000 crore apex body of all the district dairy unions of Gujarat. During 2012-13, Amul had expanded its distribution to reach 1,200 new geographical markets with addition of 306 new distributors, 65 new super-stockists and 900 new sub-stockists.

GCMMF's chairman Vipul Chaudhary has already declared that plan for the year 2013-14 includes further expanding distribution reach to 700 new markets with addition of more distributors and super-stockists. Chaudhary plans to add seven new branch offices during the financial year.