Even though milk production in India is growing annually, the country’s consumption is rising, potentially creating supply pressures if productivity improvements do not keep up, Brahmani Nara, Executive Director of Heritage Foods, said at the businessline Agri & Commodity Summit 2026.
Speaking at a fireside chat session with Raghuvir Srinivasan, Editor, businessline, she said India remains self-su cient in milk, but demand growth in certain segments is outpacing productivity gains.
“Milk production is growing at around 4 per cent. However, consumption is growing at a faster pace,” Brahmani said, adding that without structural interventions, supply-demand mismatches could emerge.
YIELD CHALLENGE
According to Brahmani, per animal productivity in India remains significantly lower than in the United States and Europe.
She said the focus must be on improving yield per animal rather than increasing herd size.
Besides, Brahmani identified breed improvement through artificial insemination, better mineral supplementation, improved cattle feed quality, and expansion of veterinary infrastructure as priority areas.
She also referred to the government’s emphasis on livestock development and scaling up the number of veterinarians, stating that such measures are aligned with the sector’s
requirements.
VALUE-ADDED FOCUS
Apart from productivity, Brahmani outlined the company’s positioning in value-added dairy segments.
Heritage Foods, she said, sees itself as a value-added dairy player and not only a liquid milk supplier.
The company was an early entrant in packaged curd and continues to expand in categor-ies such as panneer, ghee, butter, cheese and ice cream.
PROCUREMENT, PAYMENTS
She pointed out that milk is procured from over 3,00,000 farmers, nearly 70 per cent of whom are women.
Payments, Brahmani said are transferred directly into farmers’ bank accounts every 10-15 days through a digitised system.
Additionally, she said the company conducts more than 25 quality tests per batch and aims to move milk from farm to shelf within 24-36 hours wherever feasible.
Brahmani said that procurement operations are digitised, quality testing is automated, and batchlevel traceability has been introduced through Quick Response (QR) codes on packaging.
The company also uses analytics and artificial intelligence for demand forecasting and supply chain management.
In addition, Brahmani said that dairy remains a significant contributor to agricultural output and provides a steady income stream for rural households.
Source : Pressreader
