Amul of India is the world’s number one dairy cooperative, based on ICA (International Cooperative Alliance) global rankings for 2025. The announcement was made at the ICA CM50Conference in Doha, Qatar, and reflects GDP per capita performance, putting a focus on Amul’s commitment to delivering equitable value to farmers through steady growth and strategic ambitions.
Amul’s Cooperative Model and Achievements
Amul, managed by the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF), is a cooperative of farmers that runs everything from milk procurement, production and marketing. Its model includes around 3.64 million milk producers who are predominantly women, organised in over 18,600 village dairy cooperative societies and part of 18 member unions across the state of Gujarat. This holistic model contributes to a number of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including poverty reduction, gender equality and thriving rural communities.
Significance of the Ranking
This global recognition is a testament to the vibrancy and vitality of India’s cooperative movement; it also demonstrates what collective action can achieve. Amul is not just an economic success story, but a trust narrative of the 36 million milk producers who whose lives got transformed and over a billion consumers across India. It positions Amul as the epitome of cooperation excellence where high economic value is combined with social purpose.
National and Political Response
Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah congratulated Amul as well as Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) – which bagged the second rank globally, saying it was a moment of pride for the country and proved how cooperatives can be empowered. The mindset of “Apna Nirbhar” as well as ‘Big on Trust, High on Ambition’ by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi is evidently a plus sign.
Bhupendra Patel, the Chief Minister of Gujarat, also praised Amul’s success, saying that it has empowered millions of dairy farmers and women and that it is a trusted global brand because it is always working to improve quality and come up with new ideas.
Broader Impact on India’s Dairy Sector
India, the largest milk producer in the world, can attribute much of its dairy sector’s resilience and inclusive growth to farmer-owned cooperatives like Amul that include women as farmers and that apply science to dairy practices. This leadership is likely to maintain and fulfill global local needs in the future with continued government support including subsidies, credit facilities, and R&D in animal health sector.
Global Cooperative Movement and Future Outlook
The International Cooperative Alliance, based in Brussels, ltaims to build and spread these business models throughout the world, and it puts out the World Cooperative Monitor annually; the newest edition highlighted India’s highest-performing cooperatives. The 2025 summit also brought to an end the United Nations International Year of Cooperatives, which will be relaunched in a decade’s time, reflecting underlining the international relevance of cooperatives in reducing poverty and transforming societies.
In conclusion, Amul’s rise to the top of the world’s cooperatives shows that India’s unique cooperative structure, which is based on farmer ownership, social inclusion, and sustainable rural development, is a model for cooperative business models around the world.