Dairy industry growth seen sustained by herd expansion

THE dairy industry is expected to sustain its growth this year, supported by plans to import additional dairy animals and rising demand for domestically produced milk, the National Dairy Authority (NDA) said.

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that the value of dairy production at constant 2018 prices grew 6.5% in the first quarter, picking up from the 5.1% growth posted a year earlier.

The volume of dairy production rose 6.47% to 11.79 million liters.

In a statement on Sunday, the NDA said the industry had been growing even before the arrival of imported animals for the agency’s stock farms. The imports are expected to strengthen the breeding base and increase milk production capacity.

The NDA said it expects stronger demand from the planned expansion of the Department of Education’s milk feeding program, with dairy products to be procured under the Sagip Saka Act.

“This initiative is expected to create stronger and more stable market demand for locally produced milk, which in turn will encourage our dairy farmers to further increase production and invest in herd expansion and productivity improvements,” NDA Administrator Marcus Antonius T. Andaya said in the statement.

The NDA said per capita milk consumption increased to 19.53 liters in 2025 from 17.16 liters a year earlier.

For 2026, the NDA is projecting production of 53 million liters of milk, raising the country’s self-sufficiency level to 2.33% from 2.1% in March.

“The continued growth in the dairy industry reflects both the increasing productivity of our local dairy farmers and the continued implementation of programs at the farm level,” Mr. Andaya said. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel