Bihar State Milk Cooperative Federation Ltd (COMFED), which markets dairy products under the Sudha brand, has strengthened its presence in Northeast India with the inauguration of a 20,000-litre-per-day milk chilling and processing facility in Assam.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma inaugurated the facility on October 8 at the Kanyaka Marketing Complex in Shantipur, Jamugurihat, in Sonitpur district. The project was established under the state government’s Chief Minister’s Samagra Gramya Unnayan Yojana and will be developed in partnership with COMFED.
The facility is expected to strengthen local milk processing, improve the availability of Sudha products in Tezpur and surrounding areas, and provide a market for milk produced by farmers in the region.
Sudha Strengthens Its Northeast Distribution Network
COMFED began marketing Sudha packaged milk and dairy products in Assam in November 2018, initially using a third-party dairy facility at Amingaon near Guwahati. Its operations subsequently expanded across Assam and into neighbouring states, including Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh.
The Guwahati unit currently distributes Sudha products through approximately 2,200 retail vendors. Its portfolio includes packaged milk, curd, paneer, curd-based beverages, peda and milk cake.
During the financial year 2025–26, the Guwahati unit recorded business worth approximately ₹121 crore and a profit of around ₹8 crore. It sells an average of approximately 50,500 litres of milk per day, according to The Times of India.
Larger Dairy Processing Facility Planned
COMFED is also pursuing plans to establish a dedicated dairy processing facility in Assam with a proposed capacity of 1 lakh litres per day.
The federation has requested suitable land from the Assam government. The Assam Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) has reportedly identified potential sites and shown them to COMFED officials for inspection and consideration.
If implemented, the proposed plant would significantly expand Sudha’s processing capacity in Assam and provide additional infrastructure to support the brand’s longer-term growth across the Northeast. The larger facility remains a proposal and should not be confused with the newly inaugurated 20,000-litre-per-day unit.
Milk Procurement and Cooperative Growth
COMFED reportedly procures approximately 25 lakh litres of milk daily from farmers, while the government aims to increase procurement to 50 lakh litres per day. The federation supplies around 16–18 lakh litres of milk daily to the market, in addition to other dairy products.
The expansion in Assam also comes against the backdrop of rising milk production in Bihar. According to figures cited from the Press Information Bureau, Bihar’s milk production increased from 7.77 million tonnes in 2014–15 to 12.85 million tonnes in 2023–24.
Implications for the Dairy Industry
The new facility highlights the role of regional processing infrastructure in expanding cooperative dairy brands beyond their traditional markets. For Sudha, the Assam project could improve distribution efficiency and support access to consumers in additional parts of the Northeast.
For local milk producers, the facility could offer an additional route to market. The scale of its benefits will depend on milk collection arrangements, procurement volumes and the development of stronger links between local farmers and the cooperative’s distribution network.
The proposed 1-lakh-litre-per-day plant could further strengthen COMFED’s regional ambitions if the project progresses, positioning Assam as a more significant part of Sudha’s expansion strategy.
Source: Dairynews7x7 10 Oct, 2026 Read full story here
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