India needs to find foreign market for large amount of milk it is producing

NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand on Thursday said India will have to find market for milk in foreign countries as its production is growing by six per cent every year.

Speaking at the 49th Dairy Industry Conference and Expo here organised by Indian Dairy Association (IDA), Chand said there is a need to make supply chains to foreign nations, in a way that has been done in the country.

At one time we were producing less milk than the US. Today, we produce double the milk than what the US produces. Earlier in 1960s our milk production growth rate was around 1 per cent, but it is six per cent now, he said.

In 1950-51, per capita consumption of milk in the country was only 124 gram per day and by 1970 this figure dropped to 107 gram per day, he said.

The daily milk consumption in the country rose from a low of 107 gram per person in 1970 to 427 gram per person in 2020-21 as against the world average of 322 gram per day during 2021, he said.

India is producing over 220 million tonne of milk every year and consumption of milk per person has saturated in the country, he said.

So it is very important to find markets for milk that we are producing in the country, he said, adding that India should create supply chains to foreign countries.

Chand said the Indian dairy and animal husbandry is contributing almost half of the total per year agriculture growth.

The agri sector growth is 3.2 per cent, out of which half of the contribution is of the dairy and animal husbandry industry, he said.

Listing the challenges faced by the dairy industry, Chand said milk productivity per animal, breed improvement and use of chemicals in the dairy industry are the challenges faced by the milk industry.

Union minister of animal husbandry and dairying Parshottam Rupala said India must focus on breed improvement and enhancing cattle productivity to emerge as the dairy of the world.

The aim of our government is the emergence of India as a leading dairy nation of the world, he said.

IDA President R S Sodhi said that from 1996 till date milk production has increased by nine times in Gujarat.

The last time Gujarat hosted the Dairy Industry Conference was at Anand in 1996. The progress made by the dairy industry since then is unmatched. At the time, India's milk production was only 71 million tonne, which has gone up to 222 million tonne now. India's milk production has gone up by three times, but in Gujarat, it has grown by nine times from 30 lakh litres per day to 270 lakh litres, he said.

National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) Chairman Meenesh Shah said they have prepared a plan for development of dairy industry till 2047.

We have a blueprint ready for vision 2047 and it is time we all effectively collaborate synergies to achieve it. By 2047, we plan to increase bovine productivity by four times, increase Indian dairy exports to 15 per cent of total global dairy export, and build sustainable green practices to achieve COP26 targets. I invite you all to actively participate in this transformative expedition, Shah said.

Taking place in Gujarat after a gap of 27 years, the three-day conference has brought together dairy experts and professionals from India and overseas, dairy cooperatives, milk producers, government officials, scientists, policymakers and planners, academicians and other stakeholders.

The theme of the conference is India Dairy to the world: Opportunities & Challenges.