Comfed charts global route as Bihar’s dairy network expands

Patna: When Verghese Kurien, the father of India's White Revolution, was brought in by the Bihar govt in 1981 to revive its struggling dairy sector, few could have foreseen the transformation that would follow. What began as a floundering state initiative has grown into a thriving cooperative empire with an annual turnover of Rs 1,500 crore and profits touching Rs 40 crore.Kurien took charge of the Bihar State Dairy Corporation, originally formed in 1977-78, after its early efforts fell short of expectations. Under his stewardship, the Bihar State Milk Co-operative Federation Ltd, better known as Comfed, was established in 1983. Today, Comfed's dairy products are sold under the now-iconic Sudha brand."We are in the business of selling dairy products with dignity and responsibility," said Comfed managing director Raj Kumar. "Whatever profit we make from sales is redistributed among our farmers through various schemes. We are also planning to introduce an accidental medical scheme worth Rs 5 lakh for each farmer," he added.Highlighting Comfed's commitment to quality, Kumar said, "It is our responsibility to offer only the best to the market. For instance, we never reuse frying oil more than twice for making our gulab jamuns. Private players would not bother with such practices," he said.Sudha currently has the capacity to collect 40 lakh litres of milk daily. "We collect around 30 lakh litres every day of which 18 lakh litres are sold as liquid milk. The rest is processed into a wide range of dairy products," Kumar said.Buoyed by rising demand, Comfed is now setting its sights on international markets. "We have already begun exporting premium ghee, gulab jamun and makhana to the US through the Bihta dry port and Mundra port in Gujarat," said N Vijaya Lakshmi, principal secretary of the animal husbandry and fisheries resources department and chairperson of Comfed. "We are also eyeing the UAE market," she added.According to Lakshmi, Comfed plans to raise its daily milk collection to 45 lakh litres. "Competition is everywhere. Amul has started packaging in the state and Mother Dairy is also present with its full range. But their presence in Bihar is not alarming yet. We have the largest network with over 30,000 milk societies and that number is steadily growing," she said.On expansion beyond Bihar, Lakshmi said Comfed has set up plants in West Bengal and the NCR. "They are not running at full capacity yet, but weare closely monitoring the situation. The Delhi-NCR market is intensely competitive with 30-40 players. That said, we are performing well in the northeast. Our plant in Assam is doing exceptionally. In Jharkhand too, we are giving tough competition to other brands with our facilities in Bokaro, Ranchi and Jamshedpur."Asked about complaints of odour in some milk packets, she said, "Milk is a perishable item. If the cold chain breaks even for a day, spoilage can occur. We regularly remind our distributors and retailers to maintain the cold chain without compromise."Comfed is also working to bring greater transparency and efficiency to its operations. "We have started registering all 30,000 of our milk societies – 100 registrations every day. We are building a comprehensive database to monitor daily collections in real time. Whether they rise or fall, we will know at the click of a button," Singh said.Reflecting on Amul's early lead in the market, Kumar said, "Amul gained traction because they have been directly transferring benefits to their farmers. We are now moving in that direction too. Earlier, Comfed disbursed funds to society secretaries, who would then distribute cash to farmers, leaving room for manipulation. Now, we are switching to direct transfers."