Refrigerated Truck for Dairy Product Distribution in India

Research and Markets: Dairy Industry in India: 2013-2019

       

      Dairy activities have traditionally been integral to India's rural economy. The country is the world's largest producer of dairy products and also their largest consumer. Almost its entire produce is consumed in the domestic market and the country is neither an importer nor an exporter, except in a marginal sense.

       Despite being the world's largest producer, the dairy sector is by and large in the primitive stage of development and modernization. Though India may boast of a 200 million cattle population, the average output of an Indian cow is only one seventh of its American counterpart. Indian breeds of cows are considered inferior in terms of productivity. Moreover, the sector is plagued with various other impediments like shortage of fodder, its poor quality, dismal transportation facilities and a poorly developed cold chain infrastructure. As a result, the supply side lacks in elasticity that is expected of it.

       On the demand side, the situation is buoyant. With the sustained growth of the Indian economy and a consequent rise in the purchasing power during the last two decades, more and more people today are able to afford milk and various other dairy products. This trend is expected to continue with the sector experiencing a robust growth in demand in the short and medium run. If the impediments in the way of growth and development are left unaddressed, India is likely to face a serious supply - demand mismatch and it may gradually turn into a substantial importer of milk and milk products.

Fortunately, the government and other stakeholders seem to be alive to the situation and efforts to increase milk production have been intensified. Transformations in the sector are being induced by factors like new found interest on the part of the organized sector, new markets, easy credit facilities, dairy friendly policies by the government, etc. Dairy farming is now evolving from just an agrarian way of life to a professionally managed industry - the Indian dairy industry. With these positive signals, there is hope that the sector may eventually march towards another white revolution.

       Dairy Industry in India: 2013-2019 is the third edition of this highly acclaimed publication. The study is an outcome of an intensive research of the Indian dairy industry that draws upon a comprehensive analysis of every major dairy segment in India. The study, which is based both on desk research and four waves of qualitative primary research, has delved deeply into the following aspects of the Indian dairy market.

Source: reuters/Wed Oct 30, 2013

"The challenge in development of cold chain for dairy is producers are small and scattered"

Federation of Cold Storage Associations of India (FCAOI) brings together players in the cold storage industry on a single platform. In an email interview with Anurag More, Mahendra Swarup, president, FCAOI, talks about challenges in setting up cold storages in the country and what needs to be done for developing them in accordance with the growth in the dairy industry.

How important are cold chains in view of the growth in the dairy industry? 

The cold chains for dairy industry are very important for India. At present there is no cold chain facility for small producer of dairy products. Big producers have got their own arrangement. 

It cannot be said what impact will cold chains have on the dairy industry but definitely a good quality product shall be available to consumers. 

What are the challenges faced by the industry and what are the opportunities for cold chains in the dairy industry? 

The basic challenge in the development of cold chain for dairy is that the producers are small and scattered. Gradually the want for cold rooms for dairy products is increasing, particularly for preservation of khoya (mawa), butter and ice cream.

What kind of support you expect from the government for cold chains in the dairy industry? 

Government cannot play any important role except for providing collection centres for various dairy products from where the goods can be dispatched to cold storages for further storage or to the consumption centre for marketing. 

We have already explained that there is hardly any cold chain in India and a lot is to be done basically providing facility to the smaller dairies situated in villages to supply their milk or milk products to the consuming centres. We are finding that some new cold storages are coming for the storage of dairy products and private players are developing the ref. vans. But this is not all. Collection centres or big storage facilities at the point of sale are very necessary. 

What are the new trends you are witnessing in cold chains in the dairy industry? What kind of growth is seen in cold chain as far as dairy products are concerned? 

At present since the dairy industry is in a very infant stage, leaving 2/3 big dairies in India, small to very small dairies are prevalent in the country. This needs to be changed and bigger producing areas are to be established. 

We are not hoping for any major change in cold chain for dairy. Big dairy farms are to be developed. Good breed of animals which needs government support as well as big players in the industry. 

So India is lacking in cold chains for the dairy industry. What more can be done in this regard? 

India is definitely lacking in cold chain industry, same is affecting dairy industry also and lot is to be done in this regard. 

Growth in dairy and allied industry is strong in tier II and tier III cities, so what can be done to develop cold chains for the dairy industry in these cities? 

We are not finding dairy industry strong in tier II and tier III cities. Had it been so the cold chain industry would have developed by itself. Same is the case of no growth in dairy industry which is affecting cold chain network also for dairy industry. The gap in production and demand is increasing. Dependence on imported milk powder and dairy products is also increasing. 

What kind of growth are you envisaging in this industry in the next five years? 

Although there is a big need for growth in the industry but we are not envisaging any rapid growth in coming five years.

Source: FnBnews.com, Monday, August 08, 2011 IST 

"The challenge in development of cold chain for dairy is producers are small and scattered"

         

Federation of Cold Storage Associations of India (FCAOI) brings together players in the cold storage industry on a single platform. In an email interview with Anurag More, Mahendra Swarup, president, FCAOI, talks about challenges in setting up cold storages in the country and what needs to be done for developing them in accordance with the growth in the dairy industry.

How important are cold chains in view of the growth in the dairy industry? 

The cold chains for dairy industry are very important for India. At present there is no cold chain facility for small producer of dairy products. Big producers have got their own arrangement. 

It cannot be said what impact will cold chains have on the dairy industry but definitely a good quality product shall be available to consumers. 

What are the challenges faced by the industry and what are the opportunities for cold chains in the dairy industry? 

The basic challenge in the development of cold chain for dairy is that the producers are small and scattered. Gradually the want for cold rooms for dairy products is increasing, particularly for preservation of khoya (mawa), butter and ice cream.

What kind of support you expect from the government for cold chains in the dairy industry? 

Government cannot play any important role except for providing collection centres for various dairy products from where the goods can be dispatched to cold storages for further storage or to the consumption centre for marketing. 

We have already explained that there is hardly any cold chain in India and a lot is to be done basically providing facility to the smaller dairies situated in villages to supply their milk or milk products to the consuming centres. We are finding that some new cold storages are coming for the storage of dairy products and private players are developing the ref. vans. But this is not all. Collection centres or big storage facilities at the point of sale are very necessary. 

What are the new trends you are witnessing in cold chains in the dairy industry? What kind of growth is seen in cold chain as far as dairy products are concerned? 

At present since the dairy industry is in a very infant stage, leaving 2/3 big dairies in India, small to very small dairies are prevalent in the country. This needs to be changed and bigger producing areas are to be established. 

We are not hoping for any major change in cold chain for dairy. Big dairy farms are to be developed. Good breed of animals which needs government support as well as big players in the industry. 

So India is lacking in cold chains for the dairy industry. What more can be done in this regard? 

India is definitely lacking in cold chain industry, same is affecting dairy industry also and lot is to be done in this regard. 

Growth in dairy and allied industry is strong in tier II and tier III cities, so what can be done to develop cold chains for the dairy industry in these cities? 

We are not finding dairy industry strong in tier II and tier III cities. Had it been so the cold chain industry would have developed by itself. Same is the case of no growth in dairy industry which is affecting cold chain network also for dairy industry. The gap in production and demand is increasing. Dependence on imported milk powder and dairy products is also increasing. 

What kind of growth are you envisaging in this industry in the next five years? 

Although there is a big need for growth in the industry but we are not envisaging any rapid growth in coming five years.

Source: FnBnews.com, Monday, August 08, 2011 IST 

Status of Indian Dairy Cold Chain

Dreaming of a seamless integrated cold chain for the world’s second largest dairy producer

We very proudly read of the value of the Indian dairy industry expecting to touch Rs 5 lakh crore by 2015, with milk output pegged at 190 million tonnes. It also seems so lucrative to learn that India being the world's largest milk producer accounts for around 20 per cent of global milk production, with most of it consumed domestically. In India, about 60 per cent of milk is consumed in liquid form, while the remaining 40 per cent is used in the form of butter, clarified butter (desi ghee), cheese, curd, paneer, ice cream, dairy whiteners and traditional sweets. However do we really know how much of this milk that is abundantly produced is fit and safe for consumption? And why does this safety question crop up in our minds? Yes, we are discussing the Indian Dairy Cold Chain.

Growing at about 10% annually, the Indian dairy industry is predominantly controlled by the unorganised sector, which accounts for nearly 85%. About eight crore rural families across India are engaged in dairy production and the rural market consumes over half of the total milk produced.

According to a study by ASSOCHAM, an upward spiral in prices, the lack of proper infrastructure for storage & distribution and absence of a transparent milk pricing system are affecting retail consumption of milk and leading to escalating milk prices in the domestic market.

(Farmer selling extracted milk at collection centre)

DAIRY – ‘farm to home’ : An outlook

Raw Milk is often made to undergo some processes which are applied to it before it comes to the market for selling. Chilling, packaging and transportation of milk is a part of dairy technology that deals with milk processing on an industrial scale.

The task of procuring milk and getting it to our dairy processing plants is a complex problem involving ownership, pricing, collecting, grading, measuring, weighing, testing, bulking, transporting, chilling, packaging and heating. Milk must be cooled as soon as possible after it is produced. A temperature of 4°C or less is recommended. It is very necessary, because as long as this temperature is maintained, bacterial action in the milk is retarded if not prevented.

Chilling of Milk: The Importance

Chilling of milk means rapid cooling of raw milk to sufficiently low temperature so that the growth of microorganisms present in milk is checked.In chilling process the temperature of milk should be reduced to preferably 4degcentigrade.

Milk inside the udder is almost sterile and as soon as it leaves the udder, it is exposed to atmospheric conditions. Micro-organisms gain rapid entry into the milk. Various sources which contribute to the micro flora in milk are milk containers, udder of the animal, dust and dirt particles, fodder, leaves, air, the milker and the animal itself. The number and type of micro-organisms would depend upon the conditions and the sources of contamination.

 

(Growth of bacteria at various temperatures, source: Emerson)

As soon as micro-organisms get into the milk, they start growing rapidly because milk contains all the nutrients required for their growth. If the growth of microorganisms is not checked then several biochemical changes will take place in milk. Due to these changes the quality of milk is adversely affected, and the milk becomes unfit for consumption. Since most of the milk is produced in the rural areas under unhygienic conditions, hence, keeping quality of raw milk is very low.Therefore, chilling is considered necessary soon after it is extracted at the farm level – at its very source.The most effective means of controlling the growth of micro-organisms without effecting the physico-chemical properties and nutritive value of milk is to chill it. Lower temperature inhibits the growth of most of the micro-organisms.

Refrigerated Transportation: Need of the Hour

(Transportation of milk by farmers – exposure of raw milk to heat and unprotected temperature conditions thereby inducing high bacterial growth)

Contrary to a Dairy farmer in developed countries extracting more than 1000Lts per day, an average Indian Dairy Farmer at max owns 4 to 5 cows extracting less than 40 litres per day.

Indian dairy farmers typically extract milk and collectively store them in milk cans and transport it (unrefrigerated) to the nearby Milk Collecting Agents / milk co-operative societies in their locality. We are talking about a couple of hours of exposure to ambient and bacterial growth before the farmer can bring the milk to the nearby, assigned chilling center. There once the milk is graded according to its qualitative aspects, the collected milk is then stored in BULK MILK COOLERS (typically with capacities more 500 litres) to preserve them before any processing.

Here again at the chilling center again, it takes close to 3 hours for the milk Chillers to chill the milk to +4degC – ideal storage temperature. The problem with the current system is that the extracted milk is not preserved in the required temperature (+4⁰C) until it reached the collection centres thereby exposing the milk to high micro-organism growth leading to poor quality of milk with reduced shelf life and quality.  Milk from these chilling centersis then transported to the factory in INSULATED tankers – NOT refrigerated ones. What happens after production of packeted milk ready to be sold? These precooled milk packets from factory are transported in INSULATED Container bodies fabricated on Trucks – again, NOT refrigerated ones.

When Ice cream and frozen food have the privilege of being transported in Refrigerated Trucks in India, why is DAIRY – the primary source of Nutrition and Calcium for Humans being IGNORED its right to Refrigerated Transportation? Perhaps the damage to due ineffective or lack of cold chain is very obvious in melted Ice cream or thawed frozen food than milk. After all, a consumer only realizes the lack of Cold Chain when Milk turns bad in the kitchen. But then, it’s a bit too late. The consumer is left to compromise on the bad quality and continues to use another packet of milk for consumption.

Dairy Co-operatives and private players have all this while been focusing on establishing cold chain from chilling centres to the production of milk. The very critical area of cold chain at source and last-mile distribution has not been paid much attention. As much as it is important to chill milk at source to refrain bacterial growth, it is important to use refrigerated transportation for last-mile distribution as well.

Is there a solution to bring a dramatic change in current Indian Dairy Cold Chain -at farm level and in last mile distribution? Apparently the answer seems to be YES with the intensive research and product development initiative taken up by BHARAT REFRIGERATIONS PVT LTD, a Chennai based refrigeration research& engineering company. While they have developed Mini Milk Coolers targeted to SOLVE the current hurdles and inefficiencies of Cold Chain that our Dairy Farmers face, they have been successfully revolutionizing the Indian market with their refrigerated truck brand Transfreez.

The mini milk coolers that are patent protected are designed with 40 & 50Lts capacity which run on single phase power available in villages. And the good news is that these mini milk coolers are chargeable during 8 hours of poweravailability during any part of the day and sustains cooling in the milk container for upto 20 hours without any need of electricity. Another good news?  An alternative of solar energy can also be used to charge these milk Chillers to retail cooling for the entire day. The best news of all is that the milk that is poured is instantly chilled, completely arresting the inhibition and growth of bacteria.

Mini milk coolers are designed to rapidly chill and maintain temperature of milk at +4⁰C constantly to reduce the temperature of milk for minimizing the bacterial growth thereby ensuring its food safety and quality.The main objective of these mini-milk coolers is to enhance quality of milk at its SOURCE, avoidingeconomic losses to farmersdue to spoilage. We are talking about raising  Indian Dairy standards to global level - that is, raising the quality of 130 million tonnes of milk produced by our Nation and avoiding economic losses to 8 crore rural families engaged in Dairy production. 

And now, dreaming of a seamless, integrated cold chain for the world’s second largest dairy producer seems to becoming a reality.

-          Author

DivyaAmrith – Director, Marketing & Strategy. Email: divya.a@bharatref.in