Dairy lobby set to target region after output hikes

Its business plan also projects annual sales of Bt10 billion |within five years, up from Bt6.5 billion expected this year, by |penetrating more of Southeast Asia after the implementation |of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) in 2015, as well as China.
Deputy director Suchart Chariyalertsal said yesterday that the AEC would broaden the organisation’s regional market to 10 countries. Among the members, Thailand is the biggest producer, followed by Vietnam, but its output of raw milk is only one-fifth of Thailand’s.
The organisation’s production capacity is planned to be expanded from 2,800 tonnes per day this year to 3,000 tonnes next year. Of the total, 45 per cent will be supplied directly to the government’s “school milk” project and the rest to the market and for UHT (ultra-high-temperature treated) milk sales.
The government plans to encourage people to drink more milk, so the organisation will concentrate on commercial sales by reducing the share of its school milk business.
The Agriculture Ministry’s five-year plan calls for consumption of milk to be increased from 14 litres to 20 litres per capita per year.
The organisation has to |focus more on upgrading Thailand’s raw milk to Asean’s standards.
This year, Bt4.5 billion of the organisation’s sales will be generated by commercial milk and the rest from school milk.
China needs more high-quality dairy products since the country’s production was hit by melamine contamination.
The organisation is still distributing its products in the region through local agents with extensive experience in their markets.