June 10, 2013

 

Malaysia's dairy consumption to rise 3% to 5% annually

 

 

In the next three years, Malaysia's dairy consumption will see an annual growth of up to 5%.

 

This is according to John Jose, Tetra Pak Director for Marketing and Product Management for Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.

 

He said Malaysia has been experiencing an uptrend in dairy consumption with a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3%.

 

"Milk has been an important part of the Malaysian diet, making up 38% of all liquid food consumed," he told reporters at the sixth Tetra Pak Dairy Index highlight.

 

He said the market was changing and the company had to accordingly cater to the different age groups, with different packages serving different needs.

 

"We have been growing well as design and innovation is one of our strengths. We spend about 4% to 5% of revenue every year for research and development to enhance the quality of our products," he added.

 

Tetra Pak is a leader in the processing, packing and distribution systems for the liquid food industry, with special emphasis on aseptic technology.

 

Jose said flavoured milk will be one of the growth engines of the global dairy industry by the middle of the decade. He added that Malaysia had the highest per capita flavoured milk consumption in the region at 21.3 litres annually per person, compared to around 2.7 litres globally.

 

"Taste is the key reason why most Malaysians drink flavoured milk. We are always looking out for something new and exciting. We expect dairy companies to continue launching new and different flavours, which appeals to the demand for variety as well as health and nutrition," Jose said.

 

Research by Tetra Pak has identified flavoured milk as the second most widely consumed liquid dairy product after white milk, and is forecast to grow at more than double the rate of the latter between 2012 and 2015. This will create opportunities for dairy companies to boost revenue and profits.

 

Flavoured milk is expected to grow by a CAGR of 4.1% between 2012 and 2015, outpacing the forecasted growth of 1.7% for white milk and 2.4% for liquid dairy products (LDP) as a whole during the same period.

 

The Tetra Pak research also showed that consumption of white milk is expected to grow to 219.5 billion litres by 2015 from around 208.5 billion litres last year. The LDP consumption is forecast to increase 301.3 billion litres in 2015 compared to 280.3 billion litres last year. Flavoured milk is expected to grow by 13% worldwide between 2012 and 2015, from 17 billion litres to 19.2 billion litres.