Amul's Diwali gift to Ahmedabad? 'Fresh deodorized' camel milk!
Inspired by PM Modi's speech on the benefits of camel milk, Amul has buckled up its plans to sell fresh camel milk. The milk, which will be packed in 500ml pet bottles, will be sold in Ahmedabad by December 2018 but the trial run will happen around Diwali. Experiments related to deodorization will also be carried out to remove volatile odors from camel milk.
Camel milk will be sold for the first time: Amul
"For the first time in the country, camel milk will be marketed and sold. One of our milk cooperative unions will finish constructing a new camel milk-processing unit in Kutch in December 2018," said RS Sodhi, Managing Director of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF). The camel milk-processing unit near Bhuj will process about 20,000 liters of camel milk daily, Sodhi added.
But why the deodorization?
"The pasteurization process will have deodorization. The camel in Kutch roam around and eat a variety of plants, including mangroves, and therefore the odor of their milk differs from those of Middle-East," Nirav Gusai, MD, Sarhad Dairy said. "To market the milk under one brand, the taste and odor need to be consistent. So it is important to use the deodorization process," he added.
Camel milk will cost higher than cow milk
During his visit to Amul Dairy last Sunday, PM Modi claimed that he was ridiculed for calling camel's milk nutritious several years ago. But now camel's milk is fetching double the price for farmers compared to cow's milk. Officials at Sarhad Dairy said that while cow milk fetches Rs. 28-30 per liter currently, camel's milk will sell at Rs. 50-55 per liter in Gujarat.
