Guwahati, July 28: Assam achieved a major milestone in its dairy sector on Tuesday as Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma flagged off the state’s first export consignment of dairy products to Bhutan. The shipment comprises 5,627 litres of Purabi ice cream, marking Purabi Dairy’s entry into the international market.
The consignment will be distributed across major Bhutanese cities, including Thimphu, Paro, Phuentsholing and Wangdue, making Purabi ice cream available to consumers and institutional buyers in the neighbouring country.
The flag-off ceremony was attended by Cooperation Minister Kaushik Rai, senior state government officials, representatives of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), North East Dairy and Foods Limited (NEDFL), and other stakeholders involved in facilitating the export.
Purabi ice cream is manufactured by the West Assam Milk Producers’ Cooperative Union Limited (WAMUL) and marketed by NEDFL using milk sourced from thousands of dairy farmers across Assam through its cooperative network. The product range exported includes cups, cones, family packs and gallon packs.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Sarma described the export as a proud milestone for Assam, saying it reflects the growing strength of the state’s dairy sector and opens new opportunities for dairy cooperatives and rural producers. He reiterated the government’s commitment to promoting value addition, expanding market access and taking more products from Assam to national and international markets.
Purabi Dairy has witnessed rapid expansion in recent years, supported by the World Bank-funded Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project (APART), which helped increase the processing capacity of its plant from 60 to 150 tonnes of liquid milk per day. The expanded facility also houses an ice cream plant with a production capacity of 60,000 litres per month.
The export was facilitated by APEDA, which assisted NEDFL in completing the required documentation and regulatory formalities.
Officials said Bhutan’s proximity makes it an ideal market for Assam’s dairy products. NEDFL now plans to assess consumer demand before expanding exports to include more Purabi products, particularly those with a longer shelf life, while creating greater market opportunities for dairy farmers across the state.
