India / Amul becomes 1st Indian dairy firm to enter Rabobank's Global Top 20 list

New Delhi: In a first, Amul has become the only Indian diary brand to make into the global top 20 list of Rabobank. The list released by the Dutch multinational banking company has placed Amul, also known as the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), in the 16th position with an annual turnover of $5.5 billion (₹38,500 crores).

Besides, the list also featured Nestle at the top with an annual turnover of $22.1 billion. Moreover, Dairy Farmers of America jumped 3 positions in the list to secure the 3rd rank with an annual turnover of $20.1 billion.

Amul reacts to the inclusion in the Rabobank list

Expressing delight over this news, the official Twitter handle of Amul wrote, “GCMMF (Amul) enters the Rabobank’s Global Top 20 Dairy Companies list for the first time at No.16. This is a matter of pride for 36 lac milk producers of Gujarat.”

Reacting to a congratulatory tweet by the Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, the Managing Director of Amul R S Sodhi wrote, “For all this tremendous growth, credit also goes to Government of Gujarat, CMO and Vijay Rupani for supporting 36 lacs farmers during difficult times by giving timely export incentives and Infrastructure funding.”

Diary sector can boost India’s employment, says MD of Amul

In a recent statement, RS Sodhi informed that the dairy sector is crucial to generating employment in the country. He added that the sector would create a whopping 1.2 crore jobs in the following ten years. He highlighted how India’s milk market was expanding at 5% annually compared to the 1.8% growth of the global milk market. As of now, India produces 21% of the world’s milk.

The Boycott Amul Campaign

Chief Editor of Sudarshan News, Suresh Chavhanke, had earlier announced about a programme on ‘bureaucracy jihad’ and ‘UPSC Jihad’. Sharing a snippet of his program, Suresh said, “Imagine jihadis from Jamia becoming your district commissioner and secretaries in every ministry.”

After the controversial video was posted, it attacked criticism from various sides, notably from left-liberals and Islamists. It was alleged that Suresh Chavhanke is spreading hate against Muslims, and leftist portals started publishing articles criticising him and his channel and questioned Amul for being a sponsor on the channel.

However, despite the hate it got, Amul received overwhelming support from netizens who swear by the brand which is synonymous to quality and hard work of thousands of small and marginalised animal husbandry workers across the state. In fact, during the nationwide lockdown at the outbreak of Chinese coronavirus, Amul pumped in Rs 8,000 crore back into rural economy. When the government announced lockdown, Amul communicated with all the stakeholders. They managed to keep the supply chain up and running as the Ministry of Home Affairs and local administrations helped them in every possible way. There were some hiccups in the process that were dealt with by Amul and administration.