Prabowo Promises Free Milk, But What Are Indonesia's Milk Consumption Trends?

Prabowo Subianto, presidential candidate number 02, promised free lunch and milk for all schoolchildren if elected president. He also pledged to provide nutritional assistance to pregnant women.

According to *Katadata*, this nutritional promise is part of eight Quick Result Programs for 2024-2029. “Our plan is to provide free lunch and milk for all school children, students in Islamic boarding schools, toddlers, and nutritional assistance for pregnant women,” Prabowo said some time ago.

So, what is the trend of milk consumption in Indonesia?

Data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), compiled by Statista, shows that the average milk consumption per capita in Indonesia reached 4.61 kilograms (kg) per year in 2011. This was the highest figure in the last decade.

The figure then fell for two consecutive years, even plummeting to 3.59 kg/capita/year in 2013. Although it rose again later, Indonesian per capita consumption has not matched the 2011 achievement. The latest data in 2020 shows Indonesian milk consumption reached 4.03 kg/capita/year.

The OECD projects a slight decrease in per capita milk consumption in 2021, reaching 3.92 kg/person/year. A slight increase is projected for 2022-2023, at 4.02 and 4.13 kg/capita/year respectively.

The OECD's final projection is 5.01 kg/person/year in 2031.

According to *Katadata*, Indonesia's milk consumption is actually very low. Based on the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) benchmark, consumption is categorized as low if it is less than 30 kg/capita/year.

For information, per capita consumption is the amount of a particular commodity used per person. This figure is obtained by dividing total consumption by the total population.

(Also read: [Trend of Exclusive Breastfeeding in Indonesia Continues to Improve in the Last 4 Years](https://databoks.katadata.co.id/datapublish/2023/08/10/tren-pemberian-asi-eksklusif-di-indonesia-terus-membaik-dalam-4-tahun-terakhir))