Indonesian Dairy Cow Population Decreases in 2022, Reaching a Five-Year Low

According to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), the dairy cattle population in Indonesia reached 507,000 head in 2022.

The population decreased by 12.9% compared to 2021 (year-on-year), marking the lowest record since 2018.

Along with the decrease in dairy cattle, the Center for Data and Agricultural Information Systems of the Ministry of Agriculture (Pusdatin Kementan) assesses that Indonesia is potentially facing a milk production shortage for several years to come.

In its report, *Outlook Komoditas Peternakan Susu Tahun 2022*, Pusdatin Kementan predicts that national milk production volume will only grow at an average of 0.65% per year during 2022-2026.

Meanwhile, the average growth of national cow's milk consumption during 2022-2026 is predicted to reach 2.07% per year.

"The continuously increasing consumption of cow's milk in Indonesia has not been able to be matched by the capacity of national cattle farmers to provide quality cow's milk production," as quoted from the Pusdatin Kementan report.

Pusdatin Kementan mentions several factors hindering national milk production, such as the difficulty in finding green fodder for dairy cattle, the high price of concentrate feed raw materials, the decline in dairy cattle genetics, and suboptimal farm management.

Pusdatin Kementan also assesses that if there are no significant changes in national milk production, the deficit condition will continue.

"This milk shortage will open the tap for imports from producing countries such as America, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe," quoted from the report.