Indian PM Modi to take ‘Taste of India’ to Mongolia

VADODARA: When Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Ulan Bator on Sunday, he will be taking along with him the 'Taste of India' to Mongolia. 

Homegrown Amul - India's best known food brand - is all set to help Mongolia develop its dairy sector based on Amul model of cooperatives. 

A team from the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) - country's largest co-operative that markets brand Amul - has already visited Mongolia last month ahead of visit of Modi - the first Indian Prime Minister who will take a trip to the Mongolian capital. 

During Modi's visit, a cooperation agreement between GCMMF (Amul) and Institute of Technology, Mongolia will be signed between the two countries. 

Discussions between Amul and Mongolia had started when the ambassador of Mongolia to India had visited GCMMF headquarters in milk city Anand in June last. 

It was during this meeting, that Mongolia had asked GCMMF to facilitate Mongolian milk producers to restructure the dairy industry of Mongolia. 

GCMMF's team had last month visited milk processing plants in Mongolia, Institute of Technology at Ulan Bator and met various stakeholders in dairying of Mongolia to understand Mongolian government's outlook on dairy development and roles of various stakeholders. 

"Our cooperation will be for creation of effective milk procurement system near Ulan Bator and Darkhan cities and in Bayankhongor and Ovorkhangai provinces in partnership with existing rural cooperatives and milk processing entities," GCMMF's managing director R S Sodhi told TOI, while confirming the development. 

"Although Mongolia is almost half of the size of India it has a population of just 30 lakh, half of which lives in urban pockets. But Mongolia's total cattle population is over five crore with just the number of cows being around 35 lakh. Hence, there is very good potential of dairy development in that country," said a GCMMF official, who visited Mongolia in April.