Amul promises to end butter shortage in 1 week

Some complained about falling bread sales due to the unavailability of Amul butter

Dairy giant Amul has increased production to address the shortage of its butter across India and expects things to get back to normal within a week, according to R.S. Sodhi, the managing director of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation.

Sodhi blamed high festival-season demand and issues tied to milk procurement for the butter shortage. Industry analysts cited lumpy skin disease – a highly contagious viral disease of cattle and buffalo – and shortage of fodder for the poor milk supply.

The “surge in demand has cooled off significantly in October-November. This is a result of many factors including unavailability of consistent product supply after catering to the surge in demand during the festival period,” said Akshay D’Souza, Chief of Growth & Insights at retail intelligence firm Bizom.

The shortage made many shopkeepers and regular buyers of Amul butter in states such as Punjab, Delhi and Karnataka switch to products of rivals including Milky Mist, Nandini and Britannia, they told DH.

“I started using alternate brands like Nandini and Milky Mist because of the shortage,” said Bengaluru-based shopper Anilkumar Vishwakarma.

Shopkeepers have been affected too.

“There was no supply about two months ago, near Diwali. Now the supply is coming, but it is restricted and hence despite less margin, local shopkeepers are buying butter at maximum retail price. So, the shortage is felt not just across modern trade but general trade too,” a Punjab-based store manager said. “It is also affecting our overall sales as we now have to return the significant number of customers who want to buy Amul butter.”

Some others complained about falling bread sales due to the unavailability of Amul butter.

A prominent restaurant-chain owner even bought Amul butter “in black” to tackle its shortage and eventually shifted to Britannia.

“Butter shortage was there around Diwali because it was quite in demand. There was a decline in milk procurement because of festivals, while the demand for fresh milk increased disproportionately to the supply of milk. While we addressed the demand for fresh milk, we couldn’t quickly ramp up butter production at the same time,” Sodhi said.

Amul has ramped up butter production in the last three weeks and hopes to fill the supply gaps within a week.

“Now the winter has set in, things will come back to normal,” Sodhi told DH.