Gujarat's largest dairy distributes Rs 1,650 cr additional profit to its members

Banas Dairy, which claims to be the country's largest milk cooperative, announced a record 19.12 per cent price difference for its over five lakh milk-producing members, which will be in addition to the price of the milk they were paid for.

At its 54th annual general meet in Palanpur on Monday, the Banaskantha District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union Ltd, popularly known as Banas Dairy, announced that it will be distributing over Rs 1,650 crore of the price difference or additional income to its members' bank accounts directly.

The price difference is additional profit paid to the milk producer members over and above the price of milk they sell. These are earned by selling value-added non-dairy products and the profit is distributed among the members at the end of the year as a price difference.

Announcing the decision in Palanpur, dairy's chairman and former BJP minister, Shankar Chaudhary, said that the last year the amount was Rs1,100 crore which was increased to over Rs1,650 crore. Addressing the AGM, attended by thousands of members, Chaudhary said that Banas Dairy has been expanding its operations in different states including Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Andhra Pradesh, among other states.

"With Rs15,255 crore revenues annually, Banas Dairy has brought a white revolution in Banaskantha district which has been known as sukha pradesh (drought-hit area). We are expanding our operations in Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Jharkhand, among other states and recruiting manpower from Banaras Hindu University, IIT, Kanpur and IIMs," Chaudhary said.

Banas Dairy is opening its third plant in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency, Varanasi. Their two plants are already operational in Lucknow and Kanpur.

Headquartered in Palanpur, the dairy is known for some of its individual milk producers including women who have been making headlines for selling milk worth over Rs1 crore annually.