Page 89 - Fall2013

chain, from farms to markets. reconstituted with cheap vegetable oil. Developing countries account for
Corporate hopes for emerging markets rest nearly all imports of skimmed milk powder. New Zealand's large dairy
in large part upon projections for a growing cooperative Fonterra, for example, regularly blends its powdered milk with
middle class in the South, one that will consume vegetable oil in its products for poor consumers.
more dairy and will purchase that dairy from su- The big companies spend large amounts to create demand for their
permarkets. It is impossible for the people's milk processed products. For example, in the poor northeast of Brazil, Nestlé
system to comply with the private standards and and Danone have hired PR firms to help them build strategies to attract
procurement policies set by these companies. poor consumers. Nestlé has a program where salespeople go from door to
Among both the middle class and the poor, door selling packs of cookies, dairy products, yogurt and desserts. These
the big push by the dairy industry is for powdered vendors "are trained to act as nutrition consultants, helping consumers
milk products. For example, Nestlé wants to understand healthful eating."
convince poor children in the cities of Pakistan The large companies have no interest in purchasing from small farm-
to drink their NIDO powdered milk product ers, but instead have launched a program to build mega-dairies throughout
instead of fresh whole milk. When the company the developing world. And much of that milk is then turned into powder,
found that only 4 percent of the twenty-one mil- so it can be stored easily. Skimmed and whole milk powder is the primary
lion children in urban Pakistan were consuming form through which milk is traded globally, as fresh milk is too perishable
NIDO powdered milk products, mostly in higher for international trade.
income families, the company began "fortifying" A basic problem is that international prices for dairy are far below the
their product with iron and advertising heavily to costs of production for nearly all countries. The price is artificial, based
convince poor Pakistani mothers that NIDO was on heavily subsidized surplus production in Europe and the U.S., and a
a better choice for their children's health. Sales low-cost model of export production in New Zealand and Australia, which
increased fivefold in 2009, when the campaign farmers in many other countries cannot compete with.
was launched. In Vietnam, for example, where the dairy market is dominated by a
The most common products are made few large processors, and powdered milk products make up 80 percent
wth cheap imported skimmed milk, which is of the national market, the processors set their local procurement prices

THE PEOPLE'S MILK IN Industrial Milk:
DEVELOPING NATIONS Stacks of
powdered milk

PErCENTAGE OF in bags, stored
NATIONAL MILK MArKET in a warehouse.
COuNTry HANDLED By THE The powder is
PEOPLE'S MILK SECTOr reconstituted with
All Developing vegetable oil
Countries 80 to make dairy
beverages.
Argentina 15
Bangladesh 97
Brazil 40 People's Milk:
Colombia 83 Woman selling milk
India 85 and millet mixture
Kenya 86 in Zinder, Niger.
Mexico 41
Pakistan 96
Paraguay 70
rwanda 96
Sri Lanka 53
uganda 70
uruguay 60*
Zambia 78

* Figure is for cheese only.
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