Indian dairy cooperative Amul said it has solved a “misunderstanding” that sparked protests by farmers at its Anand headquarters this week.

Police reports suggested that 14 protesters were arrested for damaging offices.

Discover B2B Marketing That Performs

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

Find out more

The protest was caused by differences in the annual bonuses paid by different producer unions, Amul Dairy managing director Dr K Rathnam told just-food.

“Amul run by Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Producers Ltd is a cooperative fully owned by milk producers and all the profit earned is shared among farmers at the end of the year,” Dr Rathnam said.

That said, there could be a price difference of 10-15% in bonus offered to farmers by the 17 cooperative unions that supply Amul Dairy because of price fluctuations, he noted. 

As a result, around 2,000 farmers from Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union Ltd protested alleging they have been paid only a 7% annual bonus for past three years while other unions have paid nearly double.

GlobalData Strategic Intelligence

US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?

Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.

By GlobalData

Dr Rathnam said the issue has now been solved after meeting with farmers’ representatives. According to the managing director, after explaining the system to the farmers “in detail” they agreed to its terms. 

Just Food Excellence Awards - Nominations Closed

Nominations are now closed for the Just Food Excellence Awards. A big thanks to all the organisations that entered – your response has been outstanding, showcasing exceptional innovation, leadership, and impact.

Excellence in Action
Winning five categories in the 2025 Just Food Excellence Awards, Centric Software is setting the pace for digital transformation in food and FMCG. Explore how its integrated PLM and PXM suite delivers faster launches, smarter compliance and data-driven growth for complex, multi-channel product portfolios.

Discover the Impact