The Indian Dairy Sector: Issues for the Poor

Earlier, we had a piece by Anand Krishnaswamy about an innovative milk vending technology developed by Chennai-based Invention Labs. That piece looked at the demand side of milk, and how it reaches the end-user.

But what of the supply side? How does the market and policy environment affect the poor who work within the dairy sector? A 2002 paper published by the FAO highlights some of the critical issues facing poor people withing the Indian dairy sector.

An excerpt from the Executive Summary is below:

This paper analyzes the changes in dairy markets, policies, and trade over the past two decades and discusses what can be expected in the next decade. We analyze the changes in production, consumption and trade, as well as the changes in policies and the industry structure, and discuss how various factors have affected the market and trade situation. The paper is organized as follows: we first discuss the macro-view of the Indian dairy sector. Then we discuss policy changes and the expected effects of globalization and trade liberalization on the scale and scope of production. In the next section we discuss the changes in the cost and return structure of dairy production and the processing sector, trends in input and output prices, and breeding and health services. In the last section we discuss the impacts of commercialization of the dairy sector on socio-economic, health- environment issues.

Read the original paper here.