The Milk Producers Association (MPA) says that it has seen a 25 % increase in milk production. The increased milk yield is surprising in light of the drought situation in parts of the Western Cape.
Drought conditions in the province has had a negative impact on most industries but for the milk industry ,this is not the case.
Production is up while the number of milk producers are down. In the past 10 years, close to 8-thousand dairy farmers have closed shop. There are now only one-thousand-300 farmers countrywide.
At the moment supply exceeds demand but despite this, the outlook still looks positive.
“We got a very good industry. Demand is growing at about 4% a year. Its’ a very steady industry. The problem is we working with weather conditions and big droughts. First it was in the northern parts of the country and now in the Western Cape so that affects production,”said MPA chairman, George Kuyler.
The MPA says one of the main reasons demand is low is because the market is flooded with milk exports.
