Kochi: The production of milk and eggs decreased in 2023-24 compared to the previous year. Although cows in Kerala are high-yielding varieties, a shortage of fodder and the high cost of cattle feed are major reasons for the underfeeding of cows, resulting in sub-optimal milk production, according to the Economic Review 2024 released by the finance minister KN Balagopal in the assembly on Friday.
While India is ranked first in the production of milk and milk products with 23.93 crore tonnes, contributing 24.76% of global milk production of 98.11 crore tonnes, Kerala is ranked 15th among the milk-producing states in the country. Kerala’s per capita availability is 197 grams per day. While the total requirement of milk in Kerala in 2023-24 was 31.75 lakh metric tonnes (LMT), the annual production was only 25.32 LMT.
The state is 20% deficient as far as self-sufficiency in the sector is concerned. Thus, there is a gap of around 6.43 LMT per annum. Out of the 21.33 MT of milk produced in the state, a major share of 20.02 MT was produced by crossbred cattle (94%). Indigenous cattle produced only 0.96 MT of milk (0.5%). The contribution of non-descript cattle was 1.92 MT (0.9%). The milk production from goats was 0.96 MT (4.5%). Indigenous and non-descript buffaloes contributed the rest.
The report said that even though the herd sizes are low compared to major milk-producing states, cattle productivity in Kerala is higher than the national average. The average yield per animal per day for exotic/crossbred cows in India in 2022-23 was 8.55kg/day/animal. For indigenous cattle and non-descript cattle, it was 3.44 kg/day/animal. The yield rate from exotic and crossbred in Kerala was 10.77 kg/day/animal, and 3.21 kg/day/animal from indigenous and non-descript categories. This is the third highest among the Indian states after Punjab (13.49 kg/day/animal) and Chandigarh (12.22 kg/day/animal)
This advantage for Kerala was due to the high percentage of exotic and crossbred animals in the population compared to other states. Dairy farmers say that a shortage of good fodder and its high prices are affecting the running costs, which is forcing many to cut down on selling their milk. “Many farmers are giving up their cows because they are unable to meet the costs of maintaining them. Officials encourage people to buy cows from Tamil Nadu and other neighbouring states, promising a subsidy. And people fall for it. However, the cost of fodder and the non-availability of good grass and hay are affecting milk production,” said Cose Kurian, a farmer who owns around 40 Periyar cows.
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MILK PRODUCTION
Species-wise
Cross-breed cattle: 93.86%
Indigenous cattle: 0.45%
Non-descript cattle: 0.90%
Goat: 4.52%
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Milk marketed by Milma (metric tonne)
2017-18: 981.3
2018-19: 982.47
2019-20: 1,346.15
2020-21: 1,328.44
2021-22: 1,428.52
2022-23: 1,589.71
2023-24: 1,660.28
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Average milk procured per day (MT)
2017-18: 1,318.11
2018-19: 1,528.33
2019-20: 1,261.38
– 2020-21: 1,367.65
– 2021-22: 1,520.23
– 2022-23: 1,404
– 2023-24: 1,276.38
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Cattle feed sold (lakh MT)
2017-18: 1.63
2018-19: 1.48
2019-20: 1.35
2020-21: 1.11
2021-22: 1.12
2022-23: 1.26
2023-24: 0.93
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(Read as year, societies, total procurement/day (ltr), procurement per society/day (ltr)
2003-04 1,500 4,57,993.27 305.33
2013-14 2,808 10,92,896 389.21
2023-24 3,269 12,56,571 384.39
