Sujata Awale
Kathmandu
As industrialists cannot meet the increasing demand for milk every year, the milk industry depends upon import. Despite having 10 per cent growth in demand each year, the production of milk could not meet demand. According to data of Nepal Dairy Association (NDA), the country produces 1.5 million tonnes milk per year, which is still not enough. To mitigate the demand, industrialists import 300,000 to 400,000 litres of milk daily.
“The domestic production of milk is only enough for five months while for the remaining seven months we have to import from other countries,” said Megh Raj Bhandari, Immediate Past President of NDA. Citing that lack of production is the main challenge in the industry, he said, “There is 10 per cent growth in demand, but we only have four per cent growth in production each year.”
As per the Census report 2011, more than 80 per cent of the population depends upon agriculture while 57 per cent of the population is engaged in cattle farming in the country. The milk industry has contributed about nine per cent to gross development product (GDP) and 450,000 families are directly employed.
The milk industry's demand and production is indirectly proportionate in Nepal. The peak season for milk production starts from mid-October to mid- May when the demand goes low. On the other hand, demand goes up while milk production dips. “To mitigate this uneven scenario, we, industrialists, have no choice rather than to impor raw and powder milk from India and other third countries,” said Bhandari. “If only we could attract youth to the agriculture sector, with grooming 40,000 livestock, the situation will be corrected and 13,000 families will get employment,” he added. He stressed on the need to provide easy and affordable agricultural loans to increase the participation of youth in the milk production sector.
The government recently increased the price by Rs eight per litre on December 31, 2014 citing that farmers are not gaining much profit from the sector as they face high production cost. Of the revised price, the government allocated 69 per cent share to farmers and 31 per cent to industrialists.
“The price increment in milk is our compulsion as the production cost including daily wages, machinery, packaging, and fodder has increased by 50 per cent,” said Sumit Kedia, President of NDA. He futher said, “As we are facing a problem with production of milk, the government should plan to attract the younger generation with easy loans and subsidy.” Moreover, he said that as 60 per cent of farmers are relying on fodder, the government should conduct awareness campaigns for feeding green grass to livestock. He informed that the number of cows and buffaloes are high whereas milk production is comparatively low. According to him, local cows give only six litres per day while in other countries cows give 25 to 30 litres milk each day.
Kedia stressed on the immediate need to provide trainings and awareness about quality assurance to milk production and upgrade technology for better quality assurance. Besides these, power cuts and lack of skilled manpower are also hassles for the industry.
According to NDA, DDC the state owned milk producer enjoys 40 per cent of market share while the private sector enjoys 60 per cent market share. Pokhara, Butwal and Kathmandu are major markets where milk consumption is high.
Raj Govind Rajkarnikar, Manager of Quality Control Department at DDC, said, “The market is growing, however due to low production from farmers, we have to rely on imports.” According to him, the valley alone has 250,000 litres of milk consumption per day and DDC produces 140,000 litres of milk. According to him, there are more than 100 dairies in the valley alone. Citing that still the private sector could not gain public trust, he said, “DDC being a government owned company, we retain quality check however, many companies play foul to gain profit without having concerns about quality.” He further said that there should be a timely quality control mechanism.
Published on February 15, THT Perspectives
Kathmandu
As industrialists cannot meet the increasing demand for milk every year, the milk industry depends upon import. Despite having 10 per cent growth in demand each year, the production of milk could not meet demand. According to data of Nepal Dairy Association (NDA), the country produces 1.5 million tonnes milk per year, which is still not enough. To mitigate the demand, industrialists import 300,000 to 400,000 litres of milk daily.
“The domestic production of milk is only enough for five months while for the remaining seven months we have to import from other countries,” said Megh Raj Bhandari, Immediate Past President of NDA. Citing that lack of production is the main challenge in the industry, he said, “There is 10 per cent growth in demand, but we only have four per cent growth in production each year.”
As per the Census report 2011, more than 80 per cent of the population depends upon agriculture while 57 per cent of the population is engaged in cattle farming in the country. The milk industry has contributed about nine per cent to gross development product (GDP) and 450,000 families are directly employed.
The milk industry's demand and production is indirectly proportionate in Nepal. The peak season for milk production starts from mid-October to mid- May when the demand goes low. On the other hand, demand goes up while milk production dips. “To mitigate this uneven scenario, we, industrialists, have no choice rather than to impor raw and powder milk from India and other third countries,” said Bhandari. “If only we could attract youth to the agriculture sector, with grooming 40,000 livestock, the situation will be corrected and 13,000 families will get employment,” he added. He stressed on the need to provide easy and affordable agricultural loans to increase the participation of youth in the milk production sector.
The government recently increased the price by Rs eight per litre on December 31, 2014 citing that farmers are not gaining much profit from the sector as they face high production cost. Of the revised price, the government allocated 69 per cent share to farmers and 31 per cent to industrialists.
“The price increment in milk is our compulsion as the production cost including daily wages, machinery, packaging, and fodder has increased by 50 per cent,” said Sumit Kedia, President of NDA. He futher said, “As we are facing a problem with production of milk, the government should plan to attract the younger generation with easy loans and subsidy.” Moreover, he said that as 60 per cent of farmers are relying on fodder, the government should conduct awareness campaigns for feeding green grass to livestock. He informed that the number of cows and buffaloes are high whereas milk production is comparatively low. According to him, local cows give only six litres per day while in other countries cows give 25 to 30 litres milk each day.
Kedia stressed on the immediate need to provide trainings and awareness about quality assurance to milk production and upgrade technology for better quality assurance. Besides these, power cuts and lack of skilled manpower are also hassles for the industry.
According to NDA, DDC the state owned milk producer enjoys 40 per cent of market share while the private sector enjoys 60 per cent market share. Pokhara, Butwal and Kathmandu are major markets where milk consumption is high.
Raj Govind Rajkarnikar, Manager of Quality Control Department at DDC, said, “The market is growing, however due to low production from farmers, we have to rely on imports.” According to him, the valley alone has 250,000 litres of milk consumption per day and DDC produces 140,000 litres of milk. According to him, there are more than 100 dairies in the valley alone. Citing that still the private sector could not gain public trust, he said, “DDC being a government owned company, we retain quality check however, many companies play foul to gain profit without having concerns about quality.” He further said that there should be a timely quality control mechanism.
Published on February 15, THT Perspectives
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