Punjab state cooperative Milkfed will provide its Verka brand desi ghee worth Rs. 200 million to Gurdwaras run by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), known as mini parliament of Sikhs. This clarified butter is used in community kitchens to prepare langar and Prasad to serve devotees.

The semi government firm Milkfed and SGPC recently signed a deal for supplying pure ghee, popularly known as Verka desi ghee in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

Milkfed Managing Director, V.K. Singh, said, 'Milkfed has been supplying ghee to SGPC gurdwaras for the last two decades. The order last year (2008-09) was for Rs.12 crore (Rs.120 mn). The enhanced order is acknowledgement of our consistent quality.'

Mr. Singh said that Verka ghee brand is also popular in countries like the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Philippines, Oman, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Malaysia.

Milkfed has captured a significant market shares in these countries, exporting desi ghee worth Rs.160 million during the financial year 2008-2009.

Milkfed remained almost insulated from the adverse impact of global slowdown and it is all set to export ghee worth Rs.180 million in the current financial year.