March 25, 2009
Japan's dairy sector shrinking on rising milk and feed prices
About 1,240 farm households across Japan except for Hokkaido will stop raising cows this year, according to the Japan Dairy Council.
Imported feed mixed primarily with corn cost about JPY68,000 (US$695) per tonne last year, up from the previous JPY40,000 (US$409).
Manufacturers of milk and milk products increased the price of fresh milk by about JPY10 (US$0.1) per kg this month but that increase will leave nearly all dairy farmers in a difficult position, said Maeda Hirofumi, secretary general of the dairy council.
Suzuki Nobuhiro, an agricultural economy professor at the University of Tokyo, said butter disappeared from supermarkets last year due to a decline in raw milk production, and milk could fall into the same situation.
Suzuki added that it is necessary to study the possibility of using rice as feed for cattle for domestic self-sufficiency, and to increase the purchase price of raw milk.
There were 417,600 farm households in Japan in 1963, but the number has since dropped to 24,400 last year as aging farmers retire and farms were streamlined on a large scale.
The Dairy Tochigi Agri. Co-op said one-third of 600 dairy households were in the red last year, with 30 of them quitting the business.
The dairy council said all domestically distributed milk is produced in Japan.
