You cannot think of a kitchen without milk. Milk is one of the most important elements in the kitchen. Milk is really important because it can be given to all age groups especially children as it is one of the building blocks of life. It can also be used for a variety of food items. We should not forget that milk can also be used for a variety of dairy products such as butter and yoghurt. There are various sources of milk such as cow’s milk and goat’s milk .But since cow’s milk is widely used,Here are the top 8 milk producing countries in the world.
1. India
2. United States of America
Number 2 on our list is USA. Although United States stands second in terms of global milk production, it is first when it comes to cow’s milk as USA is the largest producer of cow’s milk. Very little is from buffalo’s milk. The dairy farms in USA have more than 15000 cows but even smaller ones contribute significantly as they yield a good number. There are altogether 23 states which produce milk. They even export a large amount of dairy products as well as milk to Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, and China.
3. China
This country stands third in the highest milk producing countries in the world. China exports milk only to a few Asian countries. This is because, they cannot satisfy the vast population, hence even though it stands third in the milk production, it is the highest importer of milk products. Recently, a 100000 cow dairy farm is planned to be set up in order to satisfy the domestic market of Russia as it plans to stop import from the European Union. It is said to be three times the size of the largest dairy farm in The USA.
4. Pakistan
Number 4 on the list is Pakistan. The main source of milk is from buffaloes in this country. The annual milk production in 2016 was 42 million tons. A little amount of milk also comes from goats. Punjab and Sindh provinces of the country are the main producers.
5. Brazil
Milk production adds a significant amount of revenue to Brazil government. Even though Brazil is known to be the largest importer of dairy products, they still hold the 5th position in milk production. This is because of the increased support of the government as well as low production and processing costs. Uniquely, Brazil relies on the Gir breed which is and Indian breed from Gujarat which is known to produce large quantities of milk. This sector gives employment to over 1 million people and hence we can see why dairy farming is important to the economy of the country.
6. Germany
This country has 4.2 million dairy cows. It’s not surprising that Germany tops the highest milk producing country in the European Union. Germany recently overtook Russia and stole the 6th spot. Both east and West Germany collectively add to the milk production significantly. But sadly German farmers are facing difficulties in rearing cattle as the land prices are skyrocketing and also they face shortage of skilled laborers to do their job. This is one of the few largest Milk Producing Countries in The World 2017.
7. Russia
Despite their usage of traditional breeding techniques and also traditional dairy farming, they continue to maintain a steady lead. Moscow tops the list of highest milk consuming state. Currently Russia is concentrating on developing better milk yielding breeds. Not only that, even Russian investors are investing on dairy farms abroad like china, to satisfy the increasing demand for milk in the domestic market.