Per person availability of milk rising since 2006-07: Sahai

Per person availability of milk in the country has increased over the last three years, Parliament was informed today.

Per person availability of milk in the country has increased over the last three years, Parliament was informed on Thursday.

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Per person availability of milk in the country was 258 grams per day in 2008 2009 in comparison to 252 gms a day in 2007-08, Minister of Food Processing Industries Subodh Kant Sahai informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

Availability was 246 gms a day in 2006-07, the minister said.

Production rose by 3,971 tonnes in 2007-08 compared to 2006-07, he said.

Quoting statistics of the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries under the Union Ministry of Agriculture, Sahai said that, though, milk production saw a rise in majority of the states it was more noticeable in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

While milk production grew by 676 tonnes in UP in 2008-09 in comparison to 2007-08 the increase was 645 tonnes in Andhra Pradesh, 475 tonnes in Gujarat and 283 tonnes in Madhya Pradesh during the period, he added.

While availability rose in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh, it dropped in Punjab, Arunachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi in 2008-O9 in comparison to 2007-O8, the minister said quoting data.

The country exported 70,146.76 metric tonnes of milk products valued at Rs 980 crore to countries like UAE, Egypt, Singapore, Japan, China, USA and Pakistan among others in 2008-9, the minister said.

Import of milk and cream in 2007-08 was 2,062.00 MT worth about 29.58 crore, he added.

Sahai said his ministry was providing financial assistance for promoting organised dairy processing sector.