Biz Masala

  BIZ MASALA   |   BUSINESS • MARKETS • ECONOMY • PEOPLE The Toopran project aims to expand organised milk processing and value addition—but the real test will be farmer returns, reliable procurement and execution. HERO: Foundation-stone ceremony for the Sabar Dairy project at Toopran. Image supplied by the editor; original publication source/rights should be confirmed. By Biz Masala | Food Processing & Rural Economy A ₹400-crore dairy investment planned for Toopran in Telangana’s Medak district could give the state’s organised milk-processing network a significant new anchor. Sabar Dairy, part of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) network that markets products under the Amul brand, held the foundation ceremony for a mega integrated dairy plant at Urja Industrial Park on 4 October 2026, according to government and media reports. The project is planned to begin with capacity to process five lakh litres of milk a day. Officials say i...

  BIZ MASALA   /   DAIRY’S DIGITAL TURN India’s dairy business is changing from village collection points to app-based doorstep subscriptions. Digital tools may make parts of the chain more visible—but they do not automatically guarantee better returns for farmers, safer milk or the health benefits brands sometimes promise. BY MURTHY ASR   |   BIZ MASALA   |   19 OCTOBER 2026 Dairy herd and farm operator. Photo supplied by Biz Masala; location and identity not confirmed. India’s milk business is being reshaped at both ends of the supply chain. At one end, collection centres are using digital scales, milk-testing equipment and software to record what farmers supply. At the other, subscription apps and online grocery platforms promise regular delivery to consumers. Between them sits a vast, complicated business. India produced about 239.3 million tonnes of milk in 2023–24, according to the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, and ac...

  Who takes the risk, who captures the margin—and why a tomato glut can turn a farmer’s harvest into a loss By Murthy ASR   |   Biz Masala   |   18 October 2026 Hero illustration: the tomato journey from farm to wholesale market and consumer. Illustrative artwork, not a documentary photograph. A tomato can be worth very little in the field and much more on a kitchen counter. Between those two points sit weather, yield, sorting, transport, commission, spoilage, bargaining power and the simple fact that a ripe tomato cannot wait indefinitely for a better price. That is the economics behind “Tomatonomics”—and Madanapalle, in Andhra Pradesh’s Annamayya district, is a revealing place to begin examining it. A price snapshot is not the whole market The latest dated market record located for this story is 16 October 2026. A mandi-data aggregator reproducing records attributed to India’s Open Government Data Platform lists Madanapalli APMC’s local tomato (FAQ...