Gyan Dairy, a unit of CP Milk & Products Ltd, has increased its milk production capacity to 15 lakh litres a day from 11 lakh litres a day.
A media statement said the company has set up a plant in Gorakhpur with a capacity of 5 lakh litres a day, at a cost of approximately ₹120 crore. The plant is spread over 20,067 sq m. With the establishment of this plant, over 1,800 direct and indirect jobs have been generated. Over 1 lakh cattle-rearing families will be benefited, it said.
Quoting Jai Agarwal, Managing Director of CP Milk & Food Prod Pvt Ltd, the statement said: “We had started our journey in 2007 with just two products in our portfolio, namely Gyan Skimmed Milk Powder and Gyan Desi Ghee. Milk was procured from the market and transported to our plant. The income from the sale of milk had gone to middlemen, depriving dairy farmers of fair compensation for their produce.”
Supportive policies
Stating that the situation is different now and everything has changed considerably over the last six-seven years, Agarwal said the company has plants in Lucknow, Barabanki, Varanasi and Gorakhpur with an increased capacity of processing 15 lakh a day and providing a range of packaged milk and other dairy products such as dahi, paneer, khoya, butter, ghee and dairy-based beverages such as lassi, chaach, etc. The company’s products are available across the country via a network of over 50,000 retailers and over 50 ‘Gyan Fresh’ stores.
Agarwal said the Uttar Pradesh dairy market is flourishing due to the State government’s supportive policies. The government provides incentives and support for dairy development, including supporting milk cooperatives and rural milk producers, setting up greenfield dairies in cities such as Gorakhpur, Ayodhya, Kanpur, Lucknow and Bareilly.
“Technological advancements such as improved milk procurement networks are accelerating dairy product adoption. Road infrastructure improvements have facilitated direct milk transportation to dairy farmers, increasing income,” Agarwal added.