Elders of the dairy industry and some government officials, on Monday, July 19, on the occasion of the second conference of dairy and related industries, gathered at Milad conference hall to examine the problems of this industry.
For this purpose, ISQI market research and communication managers also attended this conference to learn more about this market and identify opportunities.
In the following, a report of the issues raised in this event will be discussed…
The country’s dairy industry is one of the leading and export-oriented industries, which has managed to continue its existence and produce and export world-class products in spite of many problems such as the embargo and the increase in the price of animal inputs, lack of water, lack of vaccines and detro, etc.
What has seriously challenged the owners of this industry today is the decrease in per capita domestic consumption, decrease in exports and mandated pricing.
Reduction of per capita consumption of dairy products in the country
Usually, the domestic market shrinks under the influence of two groups of factors:
1.Global factors such as consumption patterns tending towards vegetarianism, environmental protection attitudes and changing tastes towards processed products.
2- Internal factors such as the decrease in purchasing power and negative advertising, statistics show that due to the increase in inflation and the decrease in the purchasing power of the people in our country, the per capita consumption of dairy products has decreased to the level of 1991 and in the meantime, milk has been reduced from the household basket more than other dairy products, which will naturally have serious damages on people’s health.
3- Reducing the export power of dairy products
The export market of this industry, which was very prosperous before, is decreasing under the influence of some factors.
4- Statistics show that the total size of the import market of dairy products of neighboring countries is more than 5 billion dollars, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE accounting for the largest volume. What has caused problems for Iran’s exports to these countries and with this volume of unanswered demand is the saturation of the markets of developed countries and the overflow of the rest of their productions and investments by their large companies in developing countries.
- Focus on variety of taste (especially cheese)
- Focus on functional products (such as increasing the immune system, reducing stress, improving digestion and losing weight)
- Focus on high protein products
- Focus on organic dairy
The effect of prescriptive pricing on the dairy industry
Mandatory pricing and government intervention in the market are other factors that have led to many problems for this industry. Surveys show that the share of this industry in inflation is 0.85%, so mandatory pricing not only does not help people’s shopping basket, but it has caused the destruction of small companies and the loss of large companies while the liberalization of prices balances supply and demand, increases competition, quality and innovation, and ultimately lowers prices.
The proposed solution to solve this problem is active action. Active action means strengthening organizations and guilds and getting out of decorative and rhetorical roles, making correct policies, and involving the government in the direction of sustainable development.
Conclusion:
The dairy industry is one of the valuable industries of the country, which can have a lot to say in the domestic and foreign markets if the government does not intervene and liberalize prices and adopt strategies to produce diverse products and compete with global companies reduction of per capita consumption of dairy products in the country due to the decrease in the purchasing power of the people, quick measures should be taken before it is too late and many diseases such as osteoporosis spread in the country.
Azadeh Entezari-July 2023
