Trends of milk production in Egypt

Abstract EN

The study reveals that cow milk in Egypt has been increasing more rapidly than buffalo milk during the period 1990-2019.

productivity per milking head took an upward trend for buffalos and cows during the same period.

starting from 2004 the cow productivity became larger than its counterpart for buffalos.

in fact, starting from 2005 the production of cow milk surpassed the production of buffalo milk for the first time.

the increase of the size of the cow herd is accountable for 38.2 percent of the increase in total cow milk production during the study period.

while the enhancement of cow milk productivity was responsible for 61.8 percent of the total increase in cow milk production.

the study points to the importance of milk productivity per head as an essential vehicle for advancing milk production in Egypt.

the possibilities of expansion in the size of milking herd are rather limited due to the limited land base and the scarcity of grazing resources.

Egypt will have to rely more on technological advancement in the areas of animal feed, artificial insemination, animal health and the like.

the share of artificially inseminated cows has increased from 9.5 percent in year 2000 to 29.1 percent in 2019.

but the artificial insemination rates for buffalos are still very modest.

guaranteed markets for fresh milk through prior contracts with processors would play a positive role in encouraging small farmers to invest in dairy enterprises.

the government should make sure that the dairy industry is competitive and large milk companies are not tempted to fix milk prices.

there is an urgent need to modernize the veterinarian units with an eye on the geographic representation in the old lands as well as in the new lands.