According to Bernama.com, Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek said the establishment of the NDB announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yesterday was to develop the dairy industry via a holistic approach.
«The prime minister sees the importance of Malaysians to drink fresh milk daily so that future generations will be healthier, smarter and fitter,» he told reporters after presenting excellent service awards at Wisma Tani.
Malaysians consume only 19.92 litres or about 20 litres of fresh milk annually. This is much lower than Europeans who consume 100 to 150 litres of fresh milk annually.
Ahmad Shabery said to meet the target consumption of 50 litres of fresh milk annually in 2050, Malaysia needs to produce 2.260 billion litres of fresh milk annually from 223,014 dairy cows compared to 21,000 cows presently.
«At the moment the milk supply in Malaysia is imported from Australia and New Zealand. The milk supplies were received in the form of powdered milk instead of milk fresh,» he added.
The NDB has been slated for launch next year.
Source: TheCattleSite
Link: http://www.thecattlesite.com/news/51092/malaysia-to-tap-dairy-countries-on-structure-of-national-dairy-board/
