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The government in its latest data has said that India’s milk production rose nearly 4 per cent annually to 239.3 million tonnes (MT) in 2023-24 on better productivity, even as milk output of buffaloes declined 16 per cent annually. Milk output from exotic/crossbred cattle has increased 8 per cent while production from indigenous/non-descript cattle increased 44.76 per cent. The milk output of India, the world’s largest milk producer, stood at 230.58 MT in 2022-23.

However, it stated the annual growth rate has slowed down in the previous two fiscal years. The growth rate was 6.62 per cent in 2017-18; 6.47 per cent in FY19; 5.69 per cent in FY20; 5.81 per cent in FY21; and 5.77 per cent in FY22. In FY23 it came down to 3.83 per cent and 3.78 per cent in FY24.

The top five milk producing states during 2023-24 were Uttar Pradesh with a share of 16.21 per cent of total milk production followed by Rajasthan (14.51 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (8.91 per cent), Gujarat (7.65 per cent), and Maharashtra (6.71 per cent).