The possible impact of weak monsoon on green fodder supplies may not affect milk production, and prices are unlikely to rise above current levels, Meenesh Shah, chairman of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), said on Tuesday.
“In terms of the India Meteorological Department’s forecast of below-normal monsoon rainfall, we will be able to manage with cattle feed and dry fodder, we do not see any challenge as it (shortfall in monsoon rains) would not impact the entire country,” Shah told FE. He said there may be some issues in central India, but fodder supplies in the northern and southern regions are comfortable.
“Compared to last year, we are paying more to the producers or farmers because of an increase in inputs, which we have already factored in; as of now we have no intention to increase the price,” Shah said. In May 2025 and 2026, milk prices were hiked by cooperatives such as Amul and Mother Dairy by Rs 2/litre for various variants due to a rise in input costs and the geopolitical situation.
In the last decade, Shah said that milk production in India, the world’s largest producer over the last two decades, has been growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5% to 6%. “Both in terms of production and procurement, we are witnessing a healthy growth and there is no de-growth except for a few years during COVID,” Shah stated.
“Both growth in production and consumption are moving in tandem; that’s why we are not facing any challenge in terms of supplies and production,” he said. India’s milk production was 247.87 million tonnes in 2024-25, an increase of 3.58% year-on-year. Shah noted that the country is currently comfortable in terms of milk production and for the next 10-15 years, NDDB does not foresee consumption growth being higher than production.
However he acknowledged that the biggest current challenge is the lower productivity of animals currently around 2,200 kg of milk per animal per lactation against the global average of over 10,000 kg of milk per lactation.
He stated that the government has initiated several measures by reducing the cost of sex-sorted semen so that more female animals are born, boosting fodder supplies, ensuring nutritional diets, and providing vaccination for foot-and-mouth disease to boost productivity.
In terms of each consumer rupee transferred to farmers, most of the cooperatives are able to pay 75% of each consumer rupee earned, some of the larger cooperatives like Amul and Mother Dairy, have been able to transfer 80 to 85% of consumer rupee realised to farmers, he said. Currently, organised players including cooperatives and private dairy companies have a market share in the range of 35% to 40%. Rest of the rest of the share.
Meanwhile, Shah launched the country’s first naturally degradable milk pouch in the soil. To begin with, dairy major Mother Dairy, a subsidiary of NDDB, will use this new degradable milk pouch in its cow milk variant sold across Delhi-NCR from June 5.