Amul Chocolate Factory to Double Capacity: GCMMF MD Jayen Mehta

Amul’s chocolate factory in Gujarat is set for a major expansion to double its current production capacity.

“We are doubling the capacity of the chocolate plant. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Mogar in 2018, we had increased the capacity by five times. That capacity was exhausted in two years. For the past year, we have been working on the expansion,” said Jayen Mehta, Managing Director of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), the apex body of milk cooperatives in Gujarat.

The Amul chocolate plant at Mogar, near Anand, is the only such facility in the GCMMF network. In 2018, PM Modi inaugurated the plant, which can produce 1,000 tonnes of chocolates per month.

“We are currently installing the requisite machinery, and the expansion work is expected to be completed in the next few months,” Mehta told Businessline on the sidelines of a convocation ceremony at the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA).

The complex at Mogar also includes a 600-tonne-per-day take-home ration plant and a therapeutic food plant with a capacity of 600 metric tonnes.

Addressing the rising prices of cocoa, an essential ingredient in chocolates, Mehta noted, “In 25 years, the rates of cocoa have increased from ₹150 to ₹200 per kilogram. Now it is difficult to get it at ₹850-900.” This increase in cocoa prices has been partly passed on to consumers.

GCMMF procures most of the cocoa needed for chocolates, ice creams, and other products from CAMPCO (Central ArecaNut and Cocoa Marketing and Cooperative Society), a cooperative body in Karnataka. “We are their largest customer,” Mehta added, without disclosing the specific amount of cocoa procured.

HBL