Gujarat has earned the title of the milk capital of the country for the strides it has made in the organized dairy sector, but neighbouring Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have outpaced Gujarat in terms of the value of milk output over the past decade.
A report compiled by the Union ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MoSPI) which compares the value of milk output of all states over the past decade (2011-12 to 2020-21) says that while the value of milk output in Gujarat rose by 54.8% in the last decade, Rajasthan registered an increase of 129.6% and MP a 120.6% rise.
The report states that Gujarat maintained its fourth position in the country in terms of milk output value. According to the report, Rajasthan ranks first, followed by UP, Maharashtra, Gujarat and MP. The report has used constant prices to compare milk output value.
Gujarat never enjoyed the status of being India’s largest milk producing state, but when it comes to the share of the organized dairy sector and that of dairy co-operatives, Gujarat enjoys the biggest share in the country.
“Gujarat has always been one of the top five milk producing states in the country and enjoys the largest share as far as the organized co-operative sector is concerned. The value of milk output in the decade between 2011 and 2021 is proportional to the growth in the quantity of the milk produced,” said Jayen Mehta, managing director of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which markets the country’s largest milk brand, Amul.
A proportional increase is observed in milk production and milk output value in all the top five milk producing states of the country.
GCMMF and 18 district milk unions of Gujarat, who are member unions of the federation, currently procure about 275 lakh kilograms of milk per day (LKPD), the highest amount procured by any state-level federation in the country. Interestingly, milk production in Gujarat has grown by 70% between 2011 and 2021. From 268.96 LKPD in 2011, the state was producing 458.14 LKPD in 2021, a 70 % increase in milk production.
In Rajasthan, milk production was 370.19 LKPD in 2011, and rose to 911.36 LKPD in 2021, a 146 % growth in milk production and unsurprisingly the value of its milk output grew by 129.61%. Similarly, in MP, milk production stood at 223.26 LKPD in 2011 and rose to 520.66 LKPD in 2021, a 133% increase in production.
In Maharashtra, milk production was 232.03 LKPD in 2011 and rose to 391.9 LKPD in 2021, a 69% increase. Uttar Pradesh, which enjoys the status of India’s largest milk producer, saw milk production increase by 46% from 2011 to 2021. Against 617.97 LKPD produced in 2011, UP produced 904.25 LKPD in 2021.
