SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir’s dairy cooperatives have an installed milk processing capacity of 2.5 lakh litres per day against average milk procurement of 1.713 lakh kg per day, while Ladakh has a processing capacity of 5,000 litres per day against procurement of 4,830 kg per day, according to data placed before the Rajya Sabha by the Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
The figures for 2025-26 show that Jammu and Kashmir’s installed processing capacity is about 46 per cent higher than its average cooperative milk procurement, with a processing-to-procurement ratio of 1.46. Ladakh’s capacity is only marginally above its average procurement, with a ratio of 1.04.
The data, provided in response to an unstarred question by Rajya Sabha member Shri Terash Gowalla, shows that Jammu and Kashmir’s dairy cooperatives have 78,000 pourer members, while Ladakh has around 1,100. The Union Government’s data covers cooperative-sector infrastructure; the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying said it does not maintain corresponding data for the private sector.
Across India, dairy cooperatives recorded average milk procurement of 69,688 thousand kg per day in 2025-26, against total installed milk processing capacity of 1,22,558 thousand litres per day. The national processing-to-procurement ratio was 1.76, meaning Jammu and Kashmir’s ratio of 1.46 was below the national cooperative-sector figure, while Ladakh’s 1.04 was substantially lower.
Jammu and Kashmir’s average cooperative milk procurement was also well below that of leading milk-producing states such as Gujarat, at 31,733.7 thousand kg per day, Karnataka at 9,926.58 thousand kg per day, Maharashtra at 4,178.37 thousand kg per day and Rajasthan at 4,528.6 thousand kg per day. Ladakh’s procurement was among the lowest in the country, although several North-Eastern states reported lower figures.
The Union Government said India’s projected total milk demand under a Business-as-Usual scenario for 2025-26 was 243 million tonnes, according to the NITI Aayog Working Group Report on Crop Husbandry, Agriculture Inputs, Demand and Supply 2024. The country’s total milk production in 2024-25 stood at 247.87 million tonnes, and the Ministry said India is self-sufficient in meeting domestic demand for milk and milk products.
The Ministry said it is implementing schemes across the country to strengthen milk production, processing, marketing and rural livelihoods, while providing additional support for hilly areas and the North-Eastern Region.
Under the National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD), 50 per cent grant assistance is provided for strengthening milk procurement, chilling and quality-assurance infrastructure to increase organised milk procurement in the cooperative sector. The scheme also provides 75 per cent Central grant assistance for modern milk procurement, processing, value addition and cold-chain infrastructure, and 70 per cent Central grant assistance for quality-assurance infrastructure in hilly areas and the North-Eastern Region.
The Rashtriya Gokul Mission is being implemented for the development and conservation of indigenous breeds, genetic upgradation of the bovine population and improvement in milk production and productivity.
The Ministry also said the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) provides a 3 per cent interest subvention to eligible beneficiaries for establishing modern dairy processing, value-addition and cold-chain infrastructure in both the cooperative and private sectors.
Among states, Gujarat recorded the highest average cooperative milk procurement at 31,733.7 thousand kg per day, followed by Karnataka at 9,926.58 thousand kg per day. Haryana had the highest processing-to-procurement ratio among the listed states at 16.46, while Mizoram recorded the highest ratio overall at 21.88. The lowest ratio was reported by Himachal Pradesh at 0.80, indicating installed processing capacity below its average cooperative procurement.
The Ministry’s figures indicate that Jammu and Kashmir has a larger processing capacity relative to cooperative procurement than some major dairy states, but remains below the national cooperative-sector ratio. Ladakh’s near one-to-one ratio points to a comparatively limited processing capacity relative to the scale of its cooperative milk procurement.
The Union Government said the schemes are intended to supplement the efforts of state governments in strengthening the dairy sector, rather than replace state-level measures for production, processing and marketing.
