Banas Dairy, the country’s largest milk cooperative, announced a record 19.12% price difference for its over five lakh milk-producing members, on top of the price of the milk they were paid for.
The Banaskantha District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union Ltd, popularly known as Banas Dairy, announced at its 54th annual general meeting in Palanpur on Monday that it will distribute over Rs 1,650 crore of the price difference or additional income to its members’ bank accounts directly.
The price difference represents additional profit paid to milk producer members above and beyond the price of milk sold. These are earned by selling value-added non-dairy products, and profits are distributed to members at the end of the year as a price difference.
Shankar Chaudhary, chairman of the dairy and a former BJP minister, announced the decision in Palanpur, saying that the amount was Rs1,100 crore last year and has now been increased to over Rs1,650 crore. In his address to the AGM, Chaudhary stated that Banas Dairy has been expanding its operations in various states such as Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Andhra Pradesh, among others.
“Banas Dairy, with annual revenues of Rs15,255 crore, has brought a white revolution to the Banaskantha district, also known as Sukha pradesh (drought-hit area). We are expanding our operations in Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Jharkhand, among other states, and we are hiring from Banaras Hindu University, IIT Kanpur, and IIMs “Chaudhary explained.
Banas Dairy is establishing its third manufacturing facility in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi. Their two plants in Lucknow and Kanpur are already operational. The dairy, headquartered in Palanpur, is well-known for some of its individual milk producers, including women who have made headlines for selling milk worth more than Rs1 crore per year.
