Indian dairy sector churns foreign money

Since India became the world's largest milk producer in 2001, some local dairies have moved from a basic portfolio of milk powder, pasteurised milk and ghee to sell milk in foreign markets. And foreign players are eager to tap the 750 billion rupee ($17 billion) industry.
"There has been a paradigm shift in the consumer's ability to buy, plus greater exposure to products they'd not known before, leading to greater demand for high-end, niche products," said Sonal Shah, head of food and agribusiness strategy at Rabo India.
That's drawn in a host of foreign dairy companies. Dabon International, a joint venture of consumer goods maker Dabur India and French dairy firm Bongrain SA launched Le Bon premium cheese in India in 1998, and recently introduced ghee and cottage cheese.
Denmark's Christian Hansen has just set up shop in Bombay to make ingredients for processed cheese and yoghurt. And American cheese maker Schreiber Foods spent 1.7 billion rupees in February to raise its stake in local firm Dynamix Dairy, which makes butter, cheese, yoghurt and ghee for Nestle India.
The move toward branded dairy products is the second "white revolution", after milk production was boosted in the 1970s and 1980s by the first one, called "Operation Flood".
India's daily milk output totals more than 240 million litres, and is growing at more than four percent each year. This is second only to the EU's combined output, and exceeds that of the United States.
There are nearly 700 registered dairies across the country, but most production is fragmented across 70 million farmers, some selling just two to four litres per day.
Just 13 percent of the milk is processed and packaged, with nearly half retained by farmers and the rest going to vendors. The branded segment, worth an estimated 173 billion rupees, is growing much faster than the traditional sector.
Some players are looking abroad for growth, particularly to countries with large Indian populations. South India-based Hatsun Agro Products Ltd is planning forays into Sri Lanka and Seychelles.
Multinational players have focused on butter and cheese, but realise their potential for growth is small compared with ethnic Indian products, which Rabo estimates will grow at more than 10 percent per year over the next four years.