The Hindu Business Line : `Get the milk flowing into the neighbours'

INDIA should leverage its leadership position as the world's largest producer of milk and try and capture the markets in all the neighbouring countries, said Dr Verghese Kurien, Chairman, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF).

GCMMF was in talks with the Sri Lankan Government to implement a Rs 10-crore dairy unit in Sri Lanka, Dr Kurien said. This unit would have the capacity to supply Sri Lanka's requirement of 53,000 tonnes and would be located in the northern part of the country," he said. This greenfield project is expected to be ready in a year's time.

Dr Kurien said that he would be talking to the Tamil Nadu Government to supply milk to Sri Lanka until such time the dairy plant is commissioned. Currently, the milk supplied to Sri Lanka is from New Zealand. India should capture this market.

He said that he had asked for a delegation from Sri Lanka to visit and understand what Anand was about.

GCMMF is also prepared to replicate such a project in Pakistan. Some time back, he headed a World Bank team to Pakistan, he said addressing the Rotary Club of Madras on the co-operative movement in India with particular reference to the white revolution.

In a co-operative movement, marketing and procurement go together, he said. It was also important to have a trademark. He related how they selected the brand name "Amul'' from the Sanskrit word "Amulya," which meant "priceless''.

There was a lot of scepticism as whether an Indian name such as Amul would work in a market, which had brands such as Polsons and Prince of Wales. But they went ahead with the brand name Amul.

Today, Amul has an ad spend of Rs 25 crore, that is, one per cent of its sales turnover of Rs 2,500 crore. Dr Kurien said that he has set a target of Rs 10,000 crore in 10 years.

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