Dairy Development

Asia's first dairy was established in 1952 with the aim of providing sterile milk to the city's citizens. The head of the Dairy Development Department was called the Dairy Commissioner. In order to progress the dairy industry with full potential, the government established a separate Dairy Development Department in the year 1958. From 1960, a scheme was started to collect milk from rural areas and distribute the milk to people in urban areas. Also, government cooling centers / dairies were established in other districts.

The state ranks 6th in milk production in the country and the milk production of the state in the year 2021-22 is 405.07 lakh liters per day. Due to low number of cows and buffaloes in the state, cross-breeding program was implemented in the state in the last 40 years to increase milk production. Therefore, milk production is increasing day by day. Milk collection in the organized sector has increased from 1 lakh liters per day in 1960 to 134.19 lakh liters per day at the end of July-2023. In this, the milk collection in the government sector is zero and the average milk collection in the cooperative sector is 38.35 lakh liters per day, while the collection in the private sector is 95.84 lakh liters per day. The rest of the milk collection is done through private organizations registered under the Milk and Milk Products Order 1992.

In the percentage of total milk production in Maharashtra, cow milk production is higher than buffalo milk production. Also, the amount of cow's milk in Maharashtra is more than other states. There is a difference in fat and non-fat solids between cow and buffalo milk. The ratio of fat to non-fat solids in cow's milk is generally 3.5/8.5 while the same ratio is 6.0/9.0 in buffalo milk.