Philippines Plight to Bring Self Sufficiently to Dairy

PHILIPPINES - A move to import hundreds of dairy animals from New Zealand reflects the serious manifestation of the National Government to increase the nation's self sufficiency rate in milk production pegged at only six percent as of last year.

23 January 2009

2 minute read

Asia

National Dairy Authority (NDA-7) Regional Manager Grace Cenas in a recent PIA Kapihan bared over 200 dairy cows at a cost of P120T each will be given to Central Visayas sometime this year to strengthen the dairy zones which is the basic building block of the local dairy industry.

Cenas said Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap has made a commitment to purchase several hundreds of cows where over 1,000 heads will be distributed in the entire Visayas including the more than 200 heads for Region VII, according to Cenas. The NDA is an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture.

The Philippine imports raw milk largely from New Zealand, Australia and the United States amounting to US $ 400 M to $ 500M every year where this goes into processing for commercial reconstituted milk and other dairy products with the overall value of the dairy industry worth at P65B or over US 1B, Cenas declared.

"The dairy industry is a lucrative business as there is a need to fill the huge demand of the populace," Cenas in the same forum stressed.

Cenas said the country only has a six percent sufficiency rate in milk production and that 94 percent of milk demand is imported from abroad.

The importation of dairy cattle will help our local dairy industry increase their milk production, this is said.

In Central Visayas, Cebu has the most number of local dairy farmers numbering to over 300 households or about 1,500 individuals that are into the local dairy industry with fresh milk as their primary produce.

Cenas said they are developing Negros Oriental as the next dairy zone after Cebu where there are over 100 dairy farmers and soon will also be going to Bohol to cultivate household farmers to form a cooperative and go into dairy farming.

There are less than 1,000 dairy cows in the region while 28T heads are sufficient to supply the fresh milk demand and milk processing for other dairy products, this is learned.

Dairy farmers in Cebu that formed into small cooperatives started its operations in 1991. Over the years more farmers are going into dairy farming although a major challenge facing dairy farmers are the cheap milk products from abroad but Cenas said the imported milk products are reconstituted milk while the dairy farmers offer pure fresh milk which is very different from the imported ones.

Cenas urged the public to help the dairy farmers and patronize local dairy products which can now be found in various supermarkets in Cebu.