India's milk consumption expected to rise in 2025
Milk consumption still below Council of Medical Research recommendations
3 January 2025
1 minute read
By: India's USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) post forecasts fluid milk consumption at 91 MMT in 2025, up from 89 MMT in 2024, according to a recent US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report.
India’s National Sample Survey Office’s (NSSO) Household Consumption Expenditure Survey report 2022-23 highlights a steady increase in the proportion of expenditures on milk and milk products. Factors such as population growth, growing milk production, rising disposable income, increasing awareness about health and nutrition, convenience via quick and e-commerce, growing number of dairy brands and marketing, are seen as drivers in boosting consumption demand.
However, despite the improved per capita availability of milk in India, the per capita consumption of dairy continues to be less than the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recommendations.
Factory use consumption
India’s factory-use consumption of fluid milk is forecasted at 125.5 MMT in 2025, up from 122.7 MMT in 2024. The processed and packaged dairy products commonly consumed in India are ice creams, butter, dairy desserts, yogurts, cheese, and condensed milk. Rising disposable income, growing population of middle-income class, booming youth population, access to multiple sales platforms especially e-commerce and quick- commerce, growing availability of the wide variety of dairy products and brands and growing individual awareness of cross-regional and healthy consumption habits, continue to influence increased demand for processed dairy products.
