Andhra Pradesh has recorded the highest growth in both milk production and per-capita milk availability, clocking a rate of over 41% and about 36%, respectively, during the five-year period of 2006-10. However, the state ranked third in terms of milk production with over 1.1 million tonne (mt) of milk produced annually, a study by Assocham said.
?Milk production across India has grown at a significant rate of about 19% during the aforesaid period, with overall milk production crossing the 121 mt mark as of 2010-11. But despite being the largest milk producer in the world, the per-capita milk availability in India at 252 gm falls below the global average of 279 gm per person per day,? the study titled ‘Unlocking the growth potential of Indian dairy industry’ said.
New Zealand (9,773 gm), Ireland (3,260 gm) and Denmark (2,411 gm) are top the three countries in terms of per-capita milk availability. Rajasthan (28%), Kerala (24.8%), Karnataka (24%) and Gujarat (23.7%) are the other top states in terms of clocking high growth in milk production.
?It is imperative for India?s dairy industry to streamline its value chain processes and integrate the small holder dairy producers into the processing value chain in order to improve the overall performance of the industry, more so as they possess inherent strengths like low production costs, lower liabilities and limited liquidity risk,? the study said.
However, lack of knowledge and technical knowhow, poor access to support services, limited access to credit and poor milk quality together limit the ability of small holder dairy producers to take advantage of market opportunities.
?Growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 4%, milk production in India is expected to rise to about 177 mt by 2019-20 and that would help in meeting the projected demand of 150 mt by 2016-17 that has been envisaged in National Dairy Plan Phase-1,? DS Rawat, national secretary general of Assocham, said.
The increase in the income level of an average Indian is being accompanied by a change in the food basket as monthly per-capita consumption expenditure on milk and milk products in both rural and urban areas has grown significantly at about 92% and 72%, respectively.
Uttar Pradesh commands the highest share of over 17% in total milk production, followed by Rajasthan (11% share), Andhra Pradesh (9%), Punjab (8%) and Gujarat (8%).
Punjab has recorded highest per-capita milk availability of 937 gm, according to latest available data, followed by Haryana (679 gm), Rajasthan (538 gm), Himachal Pradesh (446 gm) and Gujarat (435 gm). Andhra Pradesh has recorded highest growth rate of about 36% in terms of improvement seen in per-capita milk availability followed by Kerala (21%), Rajasthan (20%), Karnataka (19%) and Gujarat (17%).
?Concentration of milk production in some pockets together with high cost of transportation has led to rising disparity amid states in terms of per-capita milk availability,? the study said.
