Lack of Restrictions like APMC Enabled Indian Dairy to Reach New Heights Globally: says Ramesh Chand

At the 49th Dairy Industry Conference & Expo of the Indian Dairy Association (IDA) in Gandhinagar, Chand stated that cooperatives are responsible for India's global leadership in the dairy space. He emphasized the lack of restrictive milk marketing and trade regulations, which fueled Indian dairy growth.

"If there was APMC-kind of restrictions on milk, perhaps milk would not have seen the growth it has seen. Farmers are free to sell milk to cooperatives or private players in the village. This freedom and the absence of legal constraints have been extremely beneficial to the growth of this sector. As a result, the share of dairy income in farmers' income has increased from 14% in 2007 to 24% in 2021," he said.

According to Chand, India's annual dairy production growth rate of 6% is six times that of the population growth rate of about 1%. "A healthy person requires 380 mL of milk per day, according to nutrition experts. Taking into account spoilage, per capita production should be around 420 ml per day. We passed this important milestone as a country in 2020-21, and our output is above the recommended levels."

Chand suggested looking at export markets and making the dairy sector more competitive to ensure the industry's long-term growth. R S Sodhi, President of the IDA, stated in his presidential address at the event that the Conference had returned to Gujarat after 27 years. During this time, milk production increased from 71 million tonnes (mt) to 222 mt.

"The dairy industry's future looks promising. The current 140 crore population is expected to increase to 165 crore, while the organized milk market is expected to grow from 11 lakh crore to 30 lakh crore over the next 30 years. "In the coming years, this will generate 1.25 crore jobs," he said.

The event's keynote speaker, Union Minister for Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala, emphasised breed improvement measures. "Our average milk yield is 2.5 to 3 litres and still we are the world's top dairy producer. We must resolve to increase the average yield to 10 litres and improve our breeding stock accordingly. "We need to take on this mission in order to increase yield and become more cost competitive," Rupala explained.

Piercristiano Brazzale, President of the International Dairy Federation (IDF), and Meenesh Shah, Chairman of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), addressed the gathering.