Japan rediscovers milk

Japan is the setting for the International Dairy Federation’s 2013 World Dairy Summit and its plan to reverse the decline in milk drinking. David Hayes reports

The stage is set, and preparations are advanced for the opening of the International Dairy Federation (IDF) 2013 World Dairy Summit, which this year is being held in Yokohama, Japan, from 28 October to 1 November. The five day summit is being hosted by the Japanese National Committee of the International Dairy Federation (JIDF).

In addition to arranging the conference programme covering subject areas that include policies and economics, science and technology, farming, nutrition and health, market, the environment and food safety, JIDF is also planning a series of visits to dairy related institutions and tours to manufacturers and processing facilities around Japan.

“The theme of the IDF 2013 World Dairy Summit is ‘Rediscovering Milk’,” explains Hiroyuki Arita, representative secretary and communications manager, 2013 IDF World Dairy Summit Organising Committee’s Secretariat. “The general trend in milk consumption worldwide is becoming flat, especially in Europe and the US. In Japan, milk consumption is declining. Although milk has a lot of value nutritionally, the general public does not understand this. So that’s why we had this idea – to revisit the value of milk, not only for its nutritional value, but its functional aspects and beyond.”

Forum

The summit includes the World Dairy Leaders Forum where presidents and CEOs of leading dairy companies and dairy associations will present and discuss major topics and issues confronting the global dairy industry.

Around 150 speakers are also due to address the 10 specialist conferences planned for the 2013 World Dairy Summit, of which about one-third will be from Japan.

Arita explains that the 10 conferences running simultaneously during the summit will each focus on special areas of interest. The Dairy Policy and Economics Conference, for example, will focus on dairy production and market trends from individual country perspectives.

“In the past people tried to generalize. Now speakers talk about their own issues in the own region,” Arita says. “We have invited Asian speakers, for example, from China, Thailand and South Korea who will discuss their own topics.”

The Dairy Science and Technology Conference, meanwhile, will focus on different areas of interest. “Milk palatability is difficult to measure scientifically, for example, so scientists talk about it subjectively; also, bio-functionality – the pharmacological effects of milk and dairy produce consumption,” Arita says.

Promoting milk

The IDF 2013 World Dairy Summit is being held in Yokohama at a time when the Japanese government and dairy industry are making determined efforts to promote milk and dairy goods consumption in a bid to reverse the long term decline in milk consumption that has become evident during the past decade.

Children and young people are the main target of promotional activities which aim to educate children about milk, dairy farming and the importance of dairy consumption as part of a healthy life style.

“Declining milk consumption is an issue in Japan. There is competition between milk and other drinks such as soya milk and functional drinks which some people think are better than milk,” Arita notes. “People do not understand how nutritious milk is so we try to educate them about the value of milk so that they want to drink more.

“The government, dairy companies and milk producer associations are spending a lot of money to promote milk. Doctors, school teachers and food scientists are all trying to show how important milk is for children’s health and well being,” he notes. “In Japan people get information about milk through the TV and the school lunch programme in which milk is one of the items.”

In addition to competition from other drinks, milk consumption is declining in Japan due partly to the reluctance among girls and young women to drink milk, which some consider to be fattening. Milk consumption among older people is small, Arita notes, while milk consumption among middle aged people, who are aware of milk’s benefits, is stable. Consequently, children and young people are the main focus for milk promotion activities as they represent the future market and opportunity for sales growth.

The market

Japan has around 21,000 dairy farms, according to government figures, with the nation’s 933,000 dairy cows producing about 7.47 million tonnes of raw milk annually at present, down from about 8.2 million tonnes a year in 2005. Raw cow milk production decreased by 1.3% in 2011 in Hokkaido, the main milk producing region, along with other areas across Japan, due to the fall in milking cow numbers.

Official figures reveal that Hokkaido has increased its share of Japan’s total milk production over the past decade as output in other regions has declined. Hokkaido currently accounts for around 52 per cebt of Japan’s total milk production compared with about 40 per cent in the late 1990s.

Liquid milk production declined in 2011 due to the continued fall in consumption. Production of whole milk grew 1.2 per cent during the year while production of reconstituted and reduced fat milk decreased by 14.3 per cent in 2011, official figures show.

Production of skimmed milk powder and butter also fell in Japan in 2011, decreasing by more than 10 per cent for the year. The drop is linked to wholesale prices, which were high for SMP and butter in 2011 compared with the previous year. Total milk consumption among Japan’s 127.8 million population is four million tonnes a year, according to government statistics, equivalent to 31.8 kg per capita annually.

“Japan has no milk production surplus. The dairy industry is very healthy but dairy farmers are struggling as feed prices are getting higher. The lower exchange rate affects them badly as feed is imported,” Arita remarks. “We expect that milk prices will go up but there is a limit as consumers are not willing to pay high prices. Milk farmers and processors want to sell higher but supermarkets and consumers want cheap prices.”

Japan has four large dairy producers – Meiji, Morinaga Milk, Megmilk Snow Brand and Yakult. “The big difference is that the large producers have a variety of products, while the smaller dairy companies have less range,” Arita says.

Cheese increasing

Cheese consumption, meanwhile, is growing and has reached 245,000 tonnes per year, equivalent to 1.9kg per capita annually. In addition to being eaten on pizzas and served with pasta, cheese recently has started to be combined with Japanese food. “Cheese is regarded as a nutritious product and as a concentrated form of milk,” Arita says. “People are using cheese for new Japanese menus. We can adapt anything, such as udon and ramen noodles with cheddar or gouda.”

Over 80 per cent of cheese consumed is imported, mostly from Australia and New Zealand. Imports of cheese currently run at about 210,000 tonnes a year, while domestic production is about 45,000 tonnes annually.

Preparations

Meanwhile, JIDF is continuing with preparations for the World Dairy Summit. The organizing committee says the summit will give foreign delegates an opportunity to learn about Japan itself as well as the Japanese dairy industry. In addition to technical tours, social tours to visit different parts of Japan are planned, including Tokyo, Kamakura and the Hakone hot springs region near Mount Fuji.

“The benefits for Japan in hosting the IDF 2013 World Dairy Summit will be combining our views with those of guests from other countries. These will create new ideas that will help our industry in surviving and meeting its goals,” Arita comments. “Going forward, Japan’s dairy industry is trying to play a more significant role in Japan’s national diet. Japanese people try to be healthy but they eat less nutritional products, so we are encouraging them to eat more dairy products.”