The value of the Indian dairy industry is expected to touch Rs 5 lakh crore by 2015, withmilk output pegged at 190 million tonnes at the end of the period, industry chamber ASSOCHAM said o Friday. According to an ASSOCHAM study, the Indian dairy industry is growing at the rate of 10 per cent per annum. “Milk production is likely to reach about 190 million tonnes in 2015 from current level of about 123 million tonnes,” the ASSOCHAM study, titled, ‘Indian Dairy Industry: The Way Ahead’, said. India — the world’s largest milk producer – accounts for around 20 per cent of global milk production, with most of it consumed domestically, it added. In India, about 60 per cent of milk is consumed in liquid form, while the remaining 40 per cent is used in the form of butter, clarified butter (desi ghee), cheese, curd, paneer,ice cream, dairy whiteners and traditional sweets. “Growing at about 10 per cent annually, the Indian dairy industry is predominantly controlled by the unorganized sector, which accounts for nearly 85 per cent,” ASSOCHAM Secretary General D S Rawat said in a statement. About eight crore rural families across India are engaged in dairy production and the rural market consumes over half of the total milk produced, he added. According to the study, an upward spiral in prices, the lack of proper infrastructure like cold storages and absence of a transparent milk pricing system are affecting retailconsumption of milk and leading to escalating milk prices in the domestic market. The lack of fodder, resulting in low yield from cattle, is another problem affecting the sector, it added. Despite overall food inflation easing marginally to 10.63 per cent for the week ended November 5, milk prices grew at a faster pace of 10.74 per cent during the period. The private sector can play a pivotal role in reducing the cost of milk production by employing advanced techniques to enhance productivity, providing breeding facilities forcattle and by developing processing and marketing infrastructure, Rawat said. Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh,Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh are the leading milkproducing states in the country-PTI