After scandal Thailand's Dairy industry charts its future course
By Jon Fernquest
Maximise
profits by using cheap milk powder meant for animal feed in children's milk?This is the rhetorical question Bangkok Post journalist Sanitsuda Ekachai asked at the height of this year's school milk scandal (Read previous article).
The question highlights how bad business practices and rent seeking can become if left unregulated.
Monday's Bangkok Post business features an overview of the problems that Thailand's dairy industry faces and the measures that are being taken to overcome these problems
(Photo on right is of Dairy farmers flooding Mittraphap highway with milk during a road blockade in Saraburi’s Muak Lek district. They were demanding the government guarantee milk prices. The protest was held outside the Thai-Danish Dairy Farm)
Milk group calls for reforms
By WALAILAK KEERATIPIPATPONG27/04/2009
The newly established Milk for Thai Club is asking the government to tackle the problems of the 36-billion-baht dairy industry by amending the Milk and Dairy Act and setting up a council to oversee the industry.
Although the local dairy industry is producing less raw milk than the market demands, farmers are often seen dumping raw milk onto the road to protest against falling prices, according to Mr Veerasak.
The current Milk Board, set up only last year, has not performed well enough to ensure the sustainable development of the industry, club president Veerasak Wongsombat told participants at a recent seminar.
scandal - something
shocking, immoral, and embarassing that someone did that becomes public
school milk programme - the programme that gives milk to children in schools for free
school milk scandal - the scandal in which the milk being used in the government school milk programme for children was of low quality, even using imported powdered milk, children even became sick from drinking this milk, showed a clear example of unforgiveable corruption
chart a course - showing how something has developed and could develop in the future (like determning the path or course taken by a ship at sea) (See glossary)
animal feed - food fed to animals on farms
a rhetorical question - a question asked for its persuasive effect, not because an answer is expected, "a question posed for its persuasive effect without the expectation of a reply... encourage the listener to reflect on what the implied answer to the question must be. When a speaker states, "How much longer must our people endure this injustice?" or "How many times do I have to tell you to stop walking into the house with mud on your shoes?"; no formal answer is expected. Rather, it is a device used by the speaker to assert or deny something." (See Wikipedia)
highlights - shows
business practices - common, usual, or expected way of doing a task in a business
rent seeking - when people use their power to make money illegally and secretly, instead of competing fairly with other businesses in the market place
unregulated - an acticity without rules or laws governing it
dairy - milk and foods made from milk such as butter, cream, and cheese
dairy industry - the companies that produce milk products (See Wikipedia and chart of dairy products)
measures - actions done to solve a problem
overcome - solve a problem or put and end to a difficulty
road blockade - when a road is blocked and traffic is not allowed to pass along the road
guarantee - promising that something will happen for sure
guarantee milk prices - promising that farmers will receive certain prices for their milk
tackle the problems - solve the problems
Milk and Dairy Act - Thailand's laws for its dairy industry
a council - a group of people selected to govern a local area or organisation
oversee - manage, make sure that an activity is carried out correctly and successfully
raw - materials in their natural state before being processed or used in manufacturing
raw milk - milk from the cow, before it has been processed or packaged (See Wikipedia)
the Milk Board - the council for overseeing the school milk programme
economic development, development - the development of economic wealth of countries or regions for the well-being of their inhabitants (See Wikipedia)
sustainable development - a pattern of resource use that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for future generations to come (See Wikipedia)
school milk programme - the programme that gives milk to children in schools for free
school milk scandal - the scandal in which the milk being used in the government school milk programme for children was of low quality, even using imported powdered milk, children even became sick from drinking this milk, showed a clear example of unforgiveable corruption
chart a course - showing how something has developed and could develop in the future (like determning the path or course taken by a ship at sea) (See glossary)
animal feed - food fed to animals on farms
a rhetorical question - a question asked for its persuasive effect, not because an answer is expected, "a question posed for its persuasive effect without the expectation of a reply... encourage the listener to reflect on what the implied answer to the question must be. When a speaker states, "How much longer must our people endure this injustice?" or "How many times do I have to tell you to stop walking into the house with mud on your shoes?"; no formal answer is expected. Rather, it is a device used by the speaker to assert or deny something." (See Wikipedia)
highlights - shows
business practices - common, usual, or expected way of doing a task in a business
rent seeking - when people use their power to make money illegally and secretly, instead of competing fairly with other businesses in the market place
unregulated - an acticity without rules or laws governing it
dairy - milk and foods made from milk such as butter, cream, and cheese
dairy industry - the companies that produce milk products (See Wikipedia and chart of dairy products)
measures - actions done to solve a problem
overcome - solve a problem or put and end to a difficulty
road blockade - when a road is blocked and traffic is not allowed to pass along the road
guarantee - promising that something will happen for sure
guarantee milk prices - promising that farmers will receive certain prices for their milk
tackle the problems - solve the problems
Milk and Dairy Act - Thailand's laws for its dairy industry
a council - a group of people selected to govern a local area or organisation
oversee - manage, make sure that an activity is carried out correctly and successfully
raw - materials in their natural state before being processed or used in manufacturing
raw milk - milk from the cow, before it has been processed or packaged (See Wikipedia)
the Milk Board - the council for overseeing the school milk programme
economic development, development - the development of economic wealth of countries or regions for the well-being of their inhabitants (See Wikipedia)
sustainable development - a pattern of resource use that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for future generations to come (See Wikipedia)
Chronic problems, especially powdered milk...
Largely due to mismanagement and a lack of data, the Thai milk industry faces chronic problems such as oversupply of raw milk, spoiled school milk and low milk consumption, he said."Despite the fact that the Thai dairy industry is producing less raw milk than the market demands, farmers are often seen dumping raw milk onto the road to protest against falling prices," he said.
The club - which was set up by academics, dairy farmers and private companies early this month - estimates Thailand's raw milk production at 903,470 tonnes a year, about 425,000 tonnes less than demand. However, many milk and dairy processors use cheap imported skimmed milk powder.
mismanagement - not
managing well, resulting in failure or poor performance
chronic problems - problems that last and continue for a long time
faces chronic problems - has chronic problems
dumping milk onto the road - pouring milk out of cans onto the road
milk and dairy processors - companies that turn raw milk into a product that can be sold in stores
powdered milk, milk powder - milk that has been dried to make it easier to use, milk powder has a far longer shelf life than liquid milk and does not need to be refrigerated (See Wikipedia)
shelf life - how long a food product can remain on the shelf of a store, after this "expire date" the product is dangerous and must be thrown away
skim milk - milk without fat, non-fat milk, milk from which the cream has been removed or "skimmed" (See Wikipedia)
skimmed milk powder , Dried Skim Milk (DSM) - milk powder made from skim milk
chronic problems - problems that last and continue for a long time
faces chronic problems - has chronic problems
dumping milk onto the road - pouring milk out of cans onto the road
milk and dairy processors - companies that turn raw milk into a product that can be sold in stores
powdered milk, milk powder - milk that has been dried to make it easier to use, milk powder has a far longer shelf life than liquid milk and does not need to be refrigerated (See Wikipedia)
shelf life - how long a food product can remain on the shelf of a store, after this "expire date" the product is dangerous and must be thrown away
skim milk - milk without fat, non-fat milk, milk from which the cream has been removed or "skimmed" (See Wikipedia)
skimmed milk powder , Dried Skim Milk (DSM) - milk powder made from skim milk
The price of raw milk has risen over recent years from 12.50 baht a kilogramme to 18 baht this year, compared with 10-12 baht for milk made with powdered milk.
Local milk and dairy processing businesses are permitted to import about 55,000 tonnes of powdered milk, under Thailand's commitment to the World Trade Organisation this year.
But Patcharee Watanavichaikul, chief of an industry group of raw milk buyers, believes imports far exceed this quota, creating difficulties for the local industry.
Actual powdered milk imports are about twice the declared volume, according to industry sources.
Importers, who are usually milk companies, use powdered milk to improve the flavour of their milk and to cut costs. Powdered milk is also used in producing sweetened milk and drinking yoghurt, while bakery shops use whole-milk powder.
Mr Veerasak said it was essential that the government punish importers who exceed their quota.
He called for the 2008 Milk and Dairy Act to be revised to add penalties and advocates upgrading the Milk Board into a council chaired by the Agriculture Minister. Its membership should be cut from 25 to 21 and some state agency representatives should be replaced by experts, he said.
The club also calls for the 10-billion-baht school milk project to be restricted to pasteurised milk, excluding UHT milk.
quota - the limited
quantity that is officially allowed (for example, an import quota for
clothing from an exporting country )
far exceed this quota - much more than this quota
declared volume - the volume that the manufacturer says it has
yoghurt - a sour, creamy food made from milk, "a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. Fermentation of the milk sugar (lactose) produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to give yoghurt its texture and its characteristic tang" (See Wikipedia)
whole milk - regular milk with the fat, Close to 4% fat
whole-milk powder, Dry Whole Milk (DWM), Non-Fat Dry Milk (NFDM) - milk powder made from whole milk
advocated - recommended publicly, argued for
restricted to - limited to, cannot do more than this
pasteurized milk - a method of processing milk before packaging it for sale in stores, a process which slows the growth of microorganisms in food (See Wikipedia also under milk)
X excluding Y - X not including Y, X without Y
Ultra High Temperature processing, Ultra Heat Treatment (UHT) - a method of processing milk before packaging it for sale in stores, partial sterilization of food by heating it for a short time, around 1-2 seconds, at a temperature exceeding 135°C (275°F), which is the temperature required to kill spores in milk (See Wikipedia)
UHT milk - milk that has been treated with UHT before packaging
far exceed this quota - much more than this quota
declared volume - the volume that the manufacturer says it has
yoghurt - a sour, creamy food made from milk, "a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. Fermentation of the milk sugar (lactose) produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to give yoghurt its texture and its characteristic tang" (See Wikipedia)
whole milk - regular milk with the fat, Close to 4% fat
whole-milk powder, Dry Whole Milk (DWM), Non-Fat Dry Milk (NFDM) - milk powder made from whole milk
advocated - recommended publicly, argued for
restricted to - limited to, cannot do more than this
pasteurized milk - a method of processing milk before packaging it for sale in stores, a process which slows the growth of microorganisms in food (See Wikipedia also under milk)
X excluding Y - X not including Y, X without Y
Ultra High Temperature processing, Ultra Heat Treatment (UHT) - a method of processing milk before packaging it for sale in stores, partial sterilization of food by heating it for a short time, around 1-2 seconds, at a temperature exceeding 135°C (275°F), which is the temperature required to kill spores in milk (See Wikipedia)
UHT milk - milk that has been treated with UHT before packaging
Future plans
The club plans to send out about 200 students to research numbers of dairy cows and farms and gather information for developing effective management for the industry.Other plans include promoting milk consumption in Thailand. This is currently only 14-15 litres per year per head, compared with 250 litres in the United States and about 40 litres in some Asian countries.
The club will set up a new dairy technology and management college, probably in Lop Buri, to develop human resources for the industry.
Thailand's dairy industry is now valued at about 36 billion baht - 14 billion for ready-to-drink milk, 8.8 billion for yoghurt, 10 billion for the school milk project and 3.2 billion for cereal drinks.
cereal drinks - drinks
made from grains
(Source: Bangkok Post, business, 27/04/09, Milk group calls for reforms, WALAILAK KEERATIPIPATPONG, link)
