April 24, 2014
Low per capita milk availability undermines India''s high milk production growth
Milk productionin India has grown significantlyby 19% between 2006 and 2010, with overall milk production crossing 121 million tonnesin 2010-11, per capita milk availability in India at 252 grams falls below the global average of 279 grams per person per day.
New Zealand, Ireland and Denmark are top three countries in terms of per capita milk availability, revealed the study entitled "Unlocking the growth potential of Indian dairy industry" conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India.
The study suggests that it is imperative for India''s dairy industry to streamline and integrate smallholder producers into the processing value chain to improve the overall performance. It said the villagers should be encouraged into proactively adopting the dairy industry as a viable alternative to agriculture.
Other key areas include promoting dairy entrepreneurship, strengthening economic viability of dairy farms, increasing the link between rural production and urban markets and promotion of small quantity packaging to meet the needs of poor.
Milk production in the largest milk producer in the world grows at a compounded annual growth rate of over 4% and is expected to rise to about 177 million tonnes by 2019-20 and that will help meet the projected demand of 150 million tonnes by 2016-17.
The Andhra Pradesh state has recorded the highest growth in terms of both milk production and per capita milk availability, clocking a growth rate of over 41% and 36% during the five-year period between 2006 and 2010. In terms of milk production, the state ranked third with over 1.1 million tonnes of milk produced annually, said the apex industry body.
Besides Andra Pradesh, Rajasthan (28%), Kerala (24.8%), Karnataka (24%) and Gujarat (23.7%) are also the top five states in terms of high growth in milk production.
The study also highlighted the increase in the income level of an average Indian by the change in the food basket as the monthly per capita consumption expenditure on milk and milk products in both rural and urban areas has grown sharply at about 92% and 72%, respectively.