International Journal of Livestock Research ISSN 2277-1964 ONLINE

Vol 4(2) May14

Dairy Production in India - Existing Scenario and Future Prospects

Lipismita Samal*, A. K. Pattanaik1
College of Veterinary Sciences, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhuvneswar
India
1

Principal Scientist, Animal Nutrition Division, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar
Bareilly India
Corresponding author - [email protected]
Rec. Date:

May 20, 2013 01:50

Accept Date:

Oct 02, 2013 06:56

Abstract
Dairy production in India, which has seen great increase over the post-independence period, has grown
into a thriving enterprise; thanks to the policy decisions related to systematic breeding, improved feeding
and superior health care management over the period. These positives notwithstanding, the system is
confronting some of the major constraints that hinder inclusive development of the dairy sector in the
country. Apart from low productivity of the animals, there are many other problems like, large human
and livestock population and its pressure on land, degraded pasture lands, shortage of feed ingredients
and fodders, which need to be targeted. While the agricultural sector is witnessing a kind of stagnation or
a decline in growth rate in areas where the green revolution earlier brought a new dawn for human
survival against hunger and malnutrition, the dairy sector is showing a better promise.

Key words: Dairy production, constraints, future prospects

Introduction
Dairy production is one of the major sustenance factors for the rural economy of India. At the national
level, about 17% of the total value of output from agriculture derives from this sector, placing Indian milk
sector in first place followed by rice (14.4%) and wheat (8.7%) in 1998-99 (CSO, 2001). It is a major
contributing factor to the livelihood of resource poor subsistence farmers in a number of ways: income
from milk and milk products, insurance against draught, emergency cash requirements, household
nutrition, fuel for cooking, manure for crops, draught power for farming etc.
Indian Dairy Sector: Existing Scenario
Since 1970, India's milk production has grown by an average of nearly 4% per year and in 2006 became
the largest milk producing country in the world (Muhammad et al, 2009). At national level, 57% of the

herd is expanding by 1.2% per annum, while the dairy cow herd is decreasing by 1% per year. The
population of buffaloes increased from 43.2 million in 1951 to 93 million in 2003 (Stall et al, 2008). Raw
cow milk production has increased from 8.74 million MT in 1970 to 44.10 million MT in 2008
[email protected]

Page

by 4% and that of cow milk by 1.2% (Brouwers, 2006). Between buffaloes and cows, the Indian buffalo

105

milk production consists of buffalo milk and 43% of cows milk. Each year buffalo milk production rises

International Journal of Livestock Research ISSN 2277-1964 ONLINE

Vol 4(2) May14

corresponding to an increase in the population of milking cows from 21.8 million heads in 1970 to nearly
double at 38.5 million heads in 2008 (Muhammad et al, 2009). It is, however, interesting to note that
during this period, the milk yield has seen an increase from 400 to 1150 kg/head (Muhammad et al,
2009), indicating the enhancement in productivity of the animals. This increase in production potential
notwithstanding, the present potential is far below the averages reported from Asian countries like Japan
(9270 kg/head), Korea (9480 kg/head) and even China (3990 kg/head), not to speak of the European
countries. The Indian dairy industry has come a long way over the years from a milk production of 17
million tons in 1951 to 112 million tons in 2010 (GOI, 2010). In 2000, India had about 27% of Asias
population and more than 50% of Asias dairy production (Meyfroidt et al, 2010). The production of milk
since 1950-51 to 2011-12 has been presented in Table 1.
Table 1: Milk production in India
Year

Milk
(Million Tonnes)
17.0
19.0
20.0
21.2
23.2
30.4
31.6
34.3
35.8
38.8
41.5
44.0
46.1
46.7
48.4
51.4
53.9
55.7
58.0

1950-51
1955-56
1960-61
1968-69
1973-74
1979-80
1980-81
1981-82
1982-83
1983-84
1984-85
1985-86
1986-87
1987-88
1988-89
1989-90
1990-91
1991-92
1992-93

Year
1993-94
1994-95
1995-96
1996-97
1997-98
1998-99
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12

Milk
(Million Tonnes)
60.6
63.0
66.2
69.1
72.1
75.4
78.3
80.6
84.4
86.2
88.1
92.5
97.1
102.6
107.9
112.2
116.4
121.8
127.3

Source: State/UT Animal Husbandry Departments

India has traditionally been recognized as a low-cost milk producer due to the inexpensive feeding and
maintenance costs associated with indigenous cow breeds. The Ministry of Agriculture has identified a

low productivity of dairy animals, lack of effective quality and hygienic control systems, and creating a
network of cold chain facilities from the producer to the consumer level.

[email protected]

Page

of 6% per annum. Despite these goals, the Indian dairy sector is toiling hard to overcome challenges like

106

12th five-year plan approach for animal husbandry and dairy sector to achieve the overall desired growth

International Journal of Livestock Research ISSN 2277-1964 ONLINE

Vol 4(2) May14

Constraints
1. Environmental stress
Concomitant to the improvement in the quality of livestock through the crossbreeding, there has been an
increase in the susceptibility of these animals to various diseases, including exotic ones. Simultaneously,
a number of disease control programmes have been initiated with an aim of reducing the morbidity and
mortality. Efforts have been made to control diseases, like rinderpest, foot-and-mouth disease,
haemorrhagic septicaemia, black-quarter and anthrax. Although rinderpest has been eradicated from the
country, the prevalence of other diseases continues to be a major problem. Financial constraints generally
inhibit these farmers access to the organized veterinary services and they still rely on the conventional
treatment methods.
2. Low genetic potential of animals
India has one of the worlds largest livestock populations i.e. 185 million cattle, which is 16% of the
world population and 97 million buffaloes, which is accounting for about 57% of the world buffalo
population and 16% of cattle population (GOI, 2002). Assuming 69 million breedable cattle (62 million
indigenous and 7 million crossbreds), per animal per day milk yield was 0.92 kg for indigenous cattle and
5.42 kg for crossbred cattle (Gandhi and Sharma, 2005). Average productivity of Indian cow is only 987
kg/lactation as against the world average of 2038 kg.
3. Questionable breeding policy
Starting with 1970s, it depended entirely on crossbreeding and relied on import of Holstein-Friesian and
Jersey bulls and a few institutional herd-based small-scale progeny testing programmes which leave high
producing cows and buffaloes with farmers outside their purview (Nimbkar and Kandasamy, 2011). One
of the major criticisms of the crossbreeding program is that, after the initial spurt in production, the
performance of crossbred cows with various levels of exotic inheritance is prone to stagnation in the later
generations. So, there is a need to establish need-based dispersed community breeding programmes with
the involvement of livestock producers and minimum but systematic recording (Nimbkar and
Kandasamy, 2011).
4. Inadequate nutrient supply

animals. However, inadequate feed resource has been one of the major constraints in India; the country is
short of dry fodder by 11%, green fodder by 28%, and concentrate feeds by 35% (NIANP, 2005).

[email protected]

Page

production. Adequate supply of quality feed and fodders is critical for enhancing productivity of dairy

107

Feed is the main input factor for dairy production constituting around 60-70% of the cost of dairy

International Journal of Livestock Research ISSN 2277-1964 ONLINE

Vol 4(2) May14

The scope for raising ruminants on pastures/green forages is limited in much of the tropics, because of
gradual shrinking of arable lands and increasing water scarcity. Hence, the over-reliance on cereal crop
residues as the principal feed resources, which are low in N, is there to stay. As such there is a need to
develop feeding strategies which would guarantee optimum utilization/extraction of N from feed biomass
while at the same time minimizing its excretion into the environment. More detailed information on
concentrations of crude protein (CP), energy, minerals, etc. in rations would be needed to calculate
relative amounts of nutrients secreted in milk and excreted in manure. Theoretically speaking, dietary
manipulation to ensure the most efficient use of nutrients should focus on precision feeding. This
essentially relates to matching nutrient supply to the animals requirement and could be achieved by a
more precise assessment of the requirements. The finest example is the need to adjust the concentrate and
roughage content of the diets to match the changing physical, metabolic and hormonal milieu of
periparturient dairy animals.
5.

Lack of sufficient landholding for cultivation of green fodder

The main feeding problem in traditional systems of cattle rearing is the lack of quality forage available in
the dry season. So, pastoralists must find alternative sustainable ways of feeding as the grazing land is
gradually plummeting. Fodder deficit is a major impediment for dairy development. Due to pressure of
increasing human population, the area under fodder cultivation has remained static for the last three
decades at 4.5% of the total cultivable land, due to the preference for cultivation of food crops over fodder
crops. Alternatives to increase fodder production is through intensive fodder production, especially using
the high yielding varieties of fodder crops, through silvi-pasture system and grassland management.
6.

Poor socio-economic status of dairy farmers

More than half of all cattle and buffaloes, and almost all sheep and goats, in India belong to smallholders
who own ~one hectare land or are landless (Birthal and Taneja, 2006), who keep livestock mostly in
traditional systems with livestock contributing substantially to their livelihoods and food security. These
prime stakeholders of the entire value chain of milk are deprived of minimum resources of land, labour
and capital etc.
7.

Lack of awareness

certain regions. Most livestock services, such as artificial insemination/natural service, vaccination and
de-worming, are time-sensitive, and many a times the government machinery responsible for these

[email protected]

Page

The cooperative sector also plays a significant role in the delivery of these services though it is limited to

108

Livestock extension services in India are largely delivered by public sector animal husbandry department.

International Journal of Livestock Research ISSN 2277-1964 ONLINE

Vol 4(2) May14

services fails to deliver the same in a timely manner due to financial, logistical and administrative
constraints. There is also lack of trained and skilled workers who can make the dairy enterprises more
viable and remunerative enterprise.
The cooperative model though successful has not been able to include all the farmers into the fold. There
are still many potential farmers who use the informal channel of milk sale and delivery. There is huge
government interference in many of the co-operative federation activities which leads to lesser say of the
farmers in many crucial issues.
8.

Unorganized marketing

India is the largest producer of milk, contributing ~15 per cent of world milk production. However, the
organized dairy industry accounts for less than 15 per cent of the milk produced and less than 1 per cent
in global trade for dairy products (Sharma et al, 2009). This is mainly because of small-scale informal
sector, which has traditionally been the face of Indian dairy production. The unorganized market
competes with the organized market in relation to prices. A large fraction of the consumers in India is yet
to accept the milk from organized dairies due higher costs. The rural consumers are still dependent on the
informal and unorganized market channels. There is no specific minimum support price of the milk in the
system which makes it un-remunerative for the farmers.
Keeping in view the large number of intermediaries like military dairy farms, milk colonies, dairy cooperatives etc. involved in the milk collection procedures, the milk loses its quality in the process. This
leads to increased microbial contamination and fluctuation in the volume of the milk before reaching the
collection centers and bulk coolers.
9.

Lack of cold chain facilities

There is a dearth of required infrastructure of chilling plants and bulk coolers due to which so much of
milk goes waste due to spoilage. Milk being a highly perishable product is required to be processed or
cooled as soon as possible after milking. However to ensure this, there is a need of refrigerated milk silos
for storage which are not present at the village levels. There are long distances to be covered to reach bulk
milk coolers from the collection centre. There is a shortage of refrigerated vans and insulated tankers for
ferrying the chilled milk to the processing plants. The farmers having high yielding cattle and buffaloes

centers where there is a cooling facility or else the milk goes waste on delay.

Page

10. Adulteration and food safety

109

milk their animals 2-3 times in the day and every time they have to carry this milk to the distant collection

[email protected]

International Journal of Livestock Research ISSN 2277-1964 ONLINE

Vol 4(2) May14

Milk before being pooled up at the collection centre from various farms and animals are not subjected to
any screening for the zoonotic diseases, adulterants and contaminants in many of the cooperative
societies. This often results in spoilage of the entire batch of the pooled milk if one of the milk cans goes
undetected. The most important aspect of milk processing is its purity and wholesomeness. There have
been instances of cheap substitution of skimmed milk powder with below standard substances which is
hazardous to health. Moreover, the farmers not being able to get fair and remunerative prices for the milk
often tend to give adulterated milk at the collection centers. They often add additives to increase the fat
content of the milk and get better price for the lot. Addition of vegetable fat, animal fat, starch, etc. has
been quite frequent among the farmers to alter the fat and solid content of the milk.
Future Prospects
1. Increased milk production
Bestowed with the highest bovine population in the world, India exhibits tremendous potential to further
strengthen its position in the world dairy market. Livestock in general and dairying in particular plays a
vital role in the in the national economy and also in the socio-economic development of millions of rural
households. Livestock can significantly contribute to pathways out of poverty, since demand for livestock
products will increase substantially in the years to come. According to one projection, the demand for
milk production in India will be more than double until 2020 (Delago et al, 1999).
2. Export Potential
Milk and milk products have emerged as the largest agricultural commodity category by value in recent
years. India has the potential to become one of the leading players in milk and milk product exports.
Concentrated milk and cream products such as skimmed milk powder continues to be the largest item of
export, which together accounts for nearly 78% of net milk and milk products exports during the year
2006-07. The exports of skimmed milk power reached Rs 343 crore in 2006-07 as against Rs 78 crore in
2001-02. On the other hand butter, butter oil, ghee and other milk fat together accounted for just over
10% of the net milk and milk product exports from India during 2006-07. The leading players are Amul,
Nestle, Britannia and Mother Dairy.
3. Employment opportunities

regarded by many as one of the most pro-poor sectors with any positive development translating into
increased income and employment to millions across the country.

[email protected]

Page

2004). Among these, 65 to 70% are small, marginal and land-less farmers. Thus, the dairy sector is

110

Dairy sector is the major source of income for an estimated 27.6 million people (Naidu and Kondaiah,

International Journal of Livestock Research ISSN 2277-1964 ONLINE

Vol 4(2) May14

4. Nutrient supply
The average per capita dairy consumption during the last decade was 71.8 kg in India (equivalent to per
capita consumption of milk at 245 grams per day; USDA-FAS, 2007) vis--vis 97.6 kg in Japan, 80 kg in
South Korea, and 10.2 kg in China (Dong, 2006). These rates are significantly lower than per capita
consumption in the EU (330 kg), Australia (310 kg) and the United States (251 kg) (Muhammad et al,
2009). In other words there is enough scope to increase milk production in India for ensuring food and
nutritional security of the human population.
In many developing countries in which a human population growth rate is 2.5% per annum compared to
1% in developed countries, the amount of protein and energy consumed by the people is below the
recommended levels and also the proportion of protein that comes from animal sources is very low. Milk
is considered as the most important livestock product, followed by eggs, meat and fish. Many people in
low- and middle-income strata suffer from micronutrient deficiencies; animal-origin food like milk and
meat could be used to counteract the undernutrition problems. It is generally perceived that foods of
animal origin are energy dense and good sources of protein, minerals (such as Fe, Zn, and Ca), and
vitamins (vitamin B12 and riboflavin).
5. Low greenhouse gas potential of milk
Milk production is more environment-friendly when compared to meat production, from the point of view
of greenhouse gas (GHG) potential. It has been calculated that per unit production mutton emits 11.9
times as much GHG as milk with the net GHG for mutton being 482.5 vs. 29.2 g for milk (Pathak et al,
2010)
6. AMUL type cooperatives
The impressive trends in milk production were apparent in the 1970s following emergence and replication
of AMUL type cooperatives in the country and a restrictive trade policy for milk products; subsequently
milk production has grown at an exponential rate. Farmers have started receiving a favorable price for
their milk and the milk production system, which was essentially a self-contained one, is now being
transformed into a commercial proposition.
7. Public private partnerships

Transforming public private partnerships (PPPs) in the Indian dairy sector may serve as a major step
towards the growth and prosperity of people to grass root levels and economy of India on the whole.

[email protected]

Page

industry in India has been able to bring in the ethnic as well as exotic product offerings to the markets.

111

With the advent of better technology and penetration of organized retail into the Indian markets, the dairy

International Journal of Livestock Research ISSN 2277-1964 ONLINE

Vol 4(2) May14

Conclusion
India mostly remained traditional in their approach to dairy production activities, which is mainly due to
their social, economical and ecological compulsions. Livestock plays a central role in the natural resource
based livelihood for the vast majority of the population, which is mostly confined to rural areas. The
fourfold increase in milk production between 1963 and 2003, with more than half of the milk being
produced by buffaloes, was largely due to integrated interventions involving the synergistic action from
the government, researchers, non-governmental organizations and farmers. A review of dairy
development in the country presents encouraging trends in terms of milk production, per capita
availability of milk, sources of milk production and also accessibility of milk. However, in order to meet
the challenges ahead, it calls for an integration of interventions at the level of farmers associating
nutrition, health, reproduction and management. This would not only bring more economic benefits to
small holder farmers and improve dairy production, but also would pave way for better integration of the
traditional and industrialized systems of dairy production.

[email protected]

Page

1. Birthal PS and Taneja VK. 2006. Workshop Proc. 14. NCAP, New Delhi, India and ILRI,
Nairobi, Kenya.
2. Brouwers T. 2006. India: Dairy Giant Walking Barefoot. ZuivelZicht magazine
(www.zuivelzicht.nl), an edition of Koninklijke BDU Uitgeverij BV (the Netherlands). pp. 2.
3. Central Statistical Organization (CSO). 2001. National Accounts Statistics, 2000. Delhi:
Department of Statistics, Ministry of Planning, Government of India.
4. Delgado C, Rosegrant M, Steinfeld, H, Ehui S and Courbois C. 1999. Livestock to 2020: The
Next Food Revolution, Food, Agriculture, and the Environment Discussion Paper 28. IFPRI,
Washington, DC, USA; FAO, Rome, Italy and ILRI, Nairobi, Kenya. pp. 72.
5. Dong F. 2006. The outlook for Asian dairy markets: the role of demographics, income, and
prices. Food Policy. 31: 260-271.
6. Gandhi RS and Sharma A. 2005. Breeding strategies for self-sustenance of Indian cattle. In:
Proceedings of VIIIth National Conference on Animal Genetics and Breeding (Eds. Singh, Singh,
Rout), March 8-10, 2005 Makhdoom, Mathura, India.
7. GOI. 2002. Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying,
Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, New Delhi.
8. GOI. 2010. Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying,
Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, New Delhi.
9. Meyfroidt P, Rudelb TK and Lambina EF. 2010. Forest transitions, trade, and the global
displacement of land use. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 107: 2091720922.
10. Muhammad A, Jones KG and Blayney DP. 2009. Asian Dairy Markets: A Focus on Production,
Consumption and Trade. In: International Dairy Trade, 2nd ed. revised and extended (Eds. JL
Bellini Leite, KB Siqueira and GR Carvalho). Embrapa Gado de Leite, Juiz de Fora, Brazil. pp.
273-297.
11. Naidu AS and Kondaiah N. 2004. Livestock production and post production systems need for a
pragmatic approach. Indian Journal of Agricultural Marketing. 18: 91-105.
12. NIANP. 2005. Feed Base. National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Animal Physiology,
Bangalore.

112

References

International Journal of Livestock Research ISSN 2277-1964 ONLINE

Vol 4(2) May14

Page

113

13. Nimbkar C and Kandasamy N. 2011. Animal breeding in India a time for reflection and action.
Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics. 128: 161162.
14. Pathak H, Jain N, Bhatia AM, Patel J and Agarwal PK. 2010. Carbon footprints of Indian food
items. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. 139: 6673.
15. Sharma VP, Kumar K and Singh RV. 2009. Determinants of Small-Scale Farmer inclusion in
Emerging Modern Agrifood Markets: A Study of the Dairy Industry in India. W.P. No. 2009-0201, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, India. pp. 36.
16. Staal SJ, Alejandro NP and Mohammad J. 2008. Dairy Development for the Resource Poor. Part
3: Pakistan and India Dairy Development Case Studies PPLPI Working Paper No. 44-3. pp. 39.
17. U.S. Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA-FAS). 2007. India: Dairy
and Products Annual 2007. GAIN Report Number: IN7100, Global Agriculture Information
Network, October 2007.

[email protected]