Vadodara: More than a decade after Amul first entered West Bengal to replicate the famed Amul model outside its home turf, Gujarat’s cooperative dairy giant is now preparing for its biggest expansion yet in eastern and northeastern India.Following the BJP’s sweeping victory in West Bengal and its return to power for a third consecutive term in Assam, Anand-based Amul is accelerating investments in both states with investment plans of Rs 800 crore.Sources said the Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union Limited, popularly known as Amul Dairy, a key member union of Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation, is in advanced discussions to invest nearly Rs 650 crore in West Bengal where it plans to establish its first fully owned dairy processing plant in the state.Simultaneously, the cooperative is also setting up a major dairy project near Guwahati in Assam with an investment of around Rs 150 crore.The cooperative’s footprint in Bengal has expanded dramatically since its early experiment in the state in 2008. What had begun with scepticism in the then Left-dominated “red bastion” has evolved into one of Amul’s fastest-growing markets.The Assam govt has already facilitated land acquisition for the project. We are setting up a dairy plant near Guwahati, which will process around two lakh litres of milk per day (LLPD) and manufacture products including liquid milk, paneer, dahi, flavoured milk and mishti doi in the first phase,” Amul Dairy managing director Amit Vyas confirmed.“The land has been acquired and designs of the plant are being finalised,” he said.The expansion marks a significant shift in Amul’s eastern India strategy. In both states, the cooperative currently operates largely through third-party processing facilities while managing its own milk procurement and marketing network. The new investments are expected to give Amul direct control over production, quality and distribution in the region.In West Bengal, Amul Dairy is exploring multiple locations for the project. Sources said the Kaira Union is evaluating whether it should establish one large central plant or a network of smaller feeder plants across the state, considering the geographically dispersed nature of the market.“Having multiple smaller plants can help reduce the transportation costs of dairy products. There can be a centralised plant to manufacture products like ghee, butter and ice cream while milk, curd, buttermilk and lassi can be produced in smaller plants,” said a source close to the development.At present, Amul’s milk sales in Kolkata alone are estimated at nearly 11 lakh litres per day (LLPD). In comparison, procurement in the Bengal belt has climbed to around 9 lakh litres per day, reflecting the rapid growth of the cooperative’s eastern operations. In Assam, Amul’s procurement currently stands at around 70,000 litres per day.Industry observers say the latest expansion signals Amul’s long-term strategy to deepen its presence beyond western India while strengthening dairy infrastructure in regions where organised milk procurement networks were traditionally weak.
