Amul In Troubled Times

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GUJARAT, INDIA (GaeaTimes.com)- All is not well with Amul which is among the biggest food brands of India. The company is going through troubled times. The ouster of its founder, Verghese Kurien has brought the company into loads of problems. The political parties are trying to interfere with the internal affairs of the cooperative giant. The GCMMF held its annual general meeting on Tuesday but the majority of its board of directors did not attend it. This led to the cancellation of the AGM for lack of quorum, which is a rarity in the history of Amul. Parthi Bhatol, its chairman is also feeling the heat nowadays. He is under immense pressure to vacate his post after taking over the office for second term.

Amul is struggling to cope up with the competition from the private sector competitors and growing input cost for some time. If a political head is appointed in Amul it would weaken its bargaining capacity at the centre. The situation in the giant food brand changed for worse after Verghese Kurien quit the brand in 2006. The cost of its milk and milk related products have become expensive after his exit. This has hurt its image of a national dairy products manufacturer which used to make quality food products at really affordable price ranges.

Amul has also suffered from local competitors who have resorted to aggressive pricing to woo away the loyal Amul users. However, the existing chairman at Amul is not willing to give up so easily. In his view, Amul will bounce back and offer a range of new beverages and dairy products aimed at the young generation.