India Now the Largest Producer of Milk in the World

India has witnessed remarkable growth in the production and consumption of milk and dairy products in the last nine years, with 61 per cent increase in Milk Production since 2013-14

The dairy sector assumes a great deal of significance for India on various accounts. As an industry, it employs more than 80 million people, with the majority being small and marginal farmers as well as the landless.

Further, women constitute the major workforce of the dairy sector in the country. The sector is an important job provider, especially for women, and plays a leading role in women’s empowerment.

India has witnessed remarkable growth in the production and consumption of milk and dairy products in the last nine years. Today, India is the largest producer of milk in the world, contributing 24% of global milk production.

There has been a consistent increase in the production of milk over the years. The milk production has increased from 209.96 million tonnes in 2020-21 to 221.06 million tonnes in 2021-22 registering a growth of 5.29%.

Overall, the milk production of India has registered over 61 per cent increase from 137.7 million tonnes in 2013-14 to 221.1 million tonnes in 2021-22.

Besides, there has been a steady increase in per capita availability of milk since 2015-16. The per capita availability has increased from 303 gram/day in 2013-14 to 444 gram/day in 2021-22, nearly 1.5 times increase.

The dairy sector has been a major contributor to the growth of the rural economy in India. The government has facilitated the dairy farming infrastructure through its various initiatives such as the implementation of the Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund to upgrade the dairy infrastructure, the distribution of Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) for providing adequate and timely credit support to the farmers and launching Rashtriya Gokul Mission to boost productivity and milk output, and thereby making dairying more profitable for farmers.

An analysis by the central government shows that nearly 31.58% of the total milk production is contributed by Indigenous Buffaloes, followed by 29.91% by crossbred cattle. The Indigenous cattle contribute 10.35% of the total milk production in the country whereas non-descript cattle contribute 9.82% and non-descript buffaloes contribute 13.49% of the total milk production in the country. Goat milk shares a contribution of 2.93% in the total milk production across the country. Exotic cows have a share (1.92%) to the total milk production.

State-wise analysis in the growth pattern of milk production during 2021-22 observes that six States have registered growth of more than 6.00% in the milk production. 10 States, namely Sikkim, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Manipur, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Bihar have crossed the national average growth rate of milk production i.e. 5.29%.

In sum, the following facts need reiteration:

– Total milk production in the country is 221.06 million tonnes.

– India ranks 1st in the world in terms of total milk production. (Source: FAO).

– The milk production has increased by 5.29% over the previous year.

– The per-capita availably of milk is 444 grams per day.

– The average yield per animal per day for exotic/ crossbred is 8.52 Kg per day and for indigenous/ non-descript is 3.36 Kg per day.

– The milk production from exotic/crossbred cattle has increased by 6.16% and indigenous/ non-descript cattle has increased by 6.13% as compared to previous year. The milk production from buffaloes also increased by 4.44% as compared to previous year.

– Top 5 Milk producing States are: Rajasthan (15.05%), Uttar Pradesh (14.93%), Madhya Pradesh (8.60%), Gujarat (7.56%), Andhra Pradesh (6.97%). They together contribute 53.11% of total Milk production in the country.