Pune, May 7 -- As the lockdown gives people a chance to rustle up dishes just like chefs do, the broadening culinary engagement is pushing up consumption of dairy products. Aiding sales, industry veterans say, is the growing preference for nutritious vegetarian food.

Some large dairies across the country have reported 50-100% jump in monthly sales of cheese, butter, paneer, cream and dairy whitener in April-the month that saw offices adopting the work-from-home model to align with the government's lockdown order and help contain the spread of coronavirus.

For Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which owns the Amul brand, sales of butter, ghee and cheese in April were 20-25% higher than their average monthly figures.

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