Agriculture Ministry encourages Thai people to more milk

BANGKOK, June 1 (TNA) -- The permanent secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives opened a fair to mark the World Milk Day and encourages Thai people to drink 25 liters of milk yearly each. In the opening ceremony at the Dusit Zoo, Lertviroj Kowattana, the permanent secretary, said the Food and Agriculture Organization declared June 1 the World Milk Day to campaign for the importance and value of milk consumption. He said that a Thai person drank 18 liters of milk per year on average, relatively lower than milk consumption in developed countries. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives intends to raise local consumption of milk to 25 liters per person per year for health promotion. The higher consumption would also benefit milk cow farmers, Mr Lertviroj said. According to him, Thai milk products are popular in other countries including Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Laos, the Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia. Thai dairy exports were estimated at 13.5 billion baht last year. The milk promotion fair at the Dusit Zoo was set on June 1-3. It presents new milk products and an exhibition on the health benefits of milk and the kinds of milk that suit different age ranges. There are also discussions on the benefits of milk. Mr Lertviroj said the Department of Livestock Development was effectively controlling the quality of milk products for consumer protection. (TNA)