Mother Dairy Announces ₹750 Crore Investment for Two New Plants

Mother Dairy to Invest ₹650 Crore in Two New Processing Plants for Milk and Fruits/Vegetables Expansion

Amid increasing consumer demand, Mother Dairy has announced plans to invest ₹650 crore in setting up two new processing plants for milk and fruits/vegetables.

Manish Bandlish, Managing Director of Mother Dairy Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd, shared, "In our endeavor to expand our distribution and reach to our consumers, we have earmarked a capital expenditure (capex) outlay of over ₹750 crore to enhance our dairy and F&V (fruits and vegetables) processing capacities across key locations."

The primary investment includes a major dairy plant in Nagpur, Maharashtra, with an estimated investment of ₹525 crore. This greenfield plant will have a processing capacity of 6 lakh litres of milk per day, expandable up to 10 lakh litres per day, serving markets in central and southern regions.

Additionally, Mother Dairy plans to commission a new fruit processing plant in Karnataka under its Safal brand, with an investment exceeding ₹125 crore.

These projects are expected to be completed within approximately two years. Alongside these new ventures, the company is also strengthening capacities in existing facilities, with an additional outlay of around ₹100 crore.

Currently, Mother Dairy operates nine company-owned processing plants for dairy, with a total milk processing capacity of over 50 lakh litres per day. For fruits and vegetables, it operates four plants, while it manufactures edible oils through 15 associated plants.

Despite challenges faced during the previous fiscal year, including a subdued summer season and deflation in the edible oil sector, Mother Dairy anticipates moderate growth of around 7-8% in volume terms for the fiscal year 2023-24.

Established in 1974 under the initiative of 'Operation Flood', Mother Dairy is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). It offers a diverse portfolio of milk and milk products under the 'Mother Dairy' brand, along with edible oils under the 'Dhara' brand and fruits & vegetables, frozen vegetables and snacks, unpolished pulses, pulps, and concentrates under the 'Safal' brand. The company operates numerous milk booths and Safal retail outlets in Delhi-NCR, selling over 35 lakh litres of fresh milk daily.

HBL