POKHARA: The per capita milk availability per year in Nepal is 78 liters at the moment, taking the country to near self-reliance.

It will however require an additional per capita milk availability of 12 liters to become self-reliant.

The World Food and Agriculture Organization recommends for self-reliance in milk production the per capita milk availability should be 91 liters annually or 252 milliliters per person daily.

According to information shared at the 12th annual general assembly of Dairy Industry Association Nepal, Nepal currently produces 2.26 million tons of milk, of which around 35 percent is cow milk and the remaining buffalo milk. This is a rise of around four percent compared to the previous year.

There is an investment of around 30 billion rupees in the private dairy sector of Nepal, providing employment to around 30,000 people, said the Association Chair Raj Kumar Dahal.

Some 500,000 farmer households are involved in the dairy production business in the country.

Nepal still imports milk and milk products worth Rs. 2 billion from neighboring India and other countries around the globe.

RSS