India wants to double dairy output

India, the world’s biggest milk producer and consumer, is seeking to double output growth to become a “major player” globally and gain from rising prices, according to the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation. Output is expected to increase by 10 per cent annually in two to three years, according to R.S. Sodhi, managing director of the federation, in a recent interview with Bloomberg newswire. Estimated production has increased by five percent to 118 million metric tons in the last 12 months, he notes.
The Gujarat Group itself produced 3.3 billion liters in 2009-2010 from 2.9 million farmers. “The potential is immense,” Sodhi says. India’s butter exports are forecast at 10,000 tons in 2011, up from an estimated 4,000 tons in the previous year, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Export sales of non-fat dry milk may be 15,000 tons, an increase from 10,000 tons in 2010, it says.
India’s EUR940 billion economy has grown at an average 8.5 per cent annually in the past five years. Per capita, India’s usage is above Japan and South Korea, and four times that of China. Demand for branded milk is growing at 20 per cent annually, Sodhi says. “The official target of producing 180 million tons by 2020 can be achieved.”