October 19, 2007

India's 2008/09 milk production seen up three percent

Milk production in India in 2008/09 is seen to increase by three percent at 102 million tonnes due to growing demand for milk and milk products, according to the report by the US Department of Agriculture.

The USDA said lucrative prices in the international market for processed milk have driven export potentials for India's dairy products. India has been a net exporter of milk in 2005/06 with more than 80 percent of exports comprising various milk powders. But increasing exports have impacted local prices adversely, forcing the government to ban milk exports from February 9, 2007 until September 30, 2007 to assure supply in the lean season.

The Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics by the Indian Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (DADF), the country's milk production for 2007/08 and 2006/07 are revised to 99 million tonnes and 96 million tonnes, respectively, due to growing demand for milk and milk products as well as high farmgate prices. The National Sample Survey Data says with the rising levels of income, demand for livestock is also increasing.

India is the world's biggest producer of bovine milk and buffaloes contribute more than 57 percent to total milk production and are increasingly preferred as dairy animals due to their many uses compared to cows.

According to the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), more than 90 percent of India's milk production is sourced from 14 states (with the top states being Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra) which account for 80 percent of the country's villages. 

Despite substantial milk production growth, the Indian dairy sector still needs to overcome challenges like low productivity of dairy animals, complete coverage of milk quality and hygiene control systems, and an enhanced network of cold chain infrastructure from the production area to the consumer, reports the USDA.