Milk has often been touted as the most ideal food when it comes to meeting the nutritional needs of human beings. In fact, unlike other mammals, we humans are the only ones who continue to drink milk way past infancy.

There is ample evidence that milk, as a food product, is deeply imbedded in human culture – it is found in our myths and legends; it is present in our literature and visual arts; the world’s languages are replete with expressions involving milk; and even the Bible and Koran make references to it.

For example, Shakespeare’s Macbeth gets an earful from his wife, the overly ambitious Lady Macbeth, when she berates him for being “too full of the milk of human kindness”. The Lady Macbeth believes that too much basic human decency and compassion for others epitomized by nurturing milk is the source of her husband’s apparent lack of motivation to appropriate for himself the Scottish crown. The subsequent assassination of King Duncan shows that in the end, murderous blood won over life-giving milk.

Examples of idiomatic expressions which incorporate the word milk are “there’s no use crying over spilt milk”, meaning that one should not worry about little things or get upset about things that have already happened and “a pot of milk is ruined by a drop of poison” which is illustrative of how one bad thing can ruin everything.

In our own culture we describe as “may gatas pa sa labi” someone who is still very young or inexperienced. Sometimes, we use the word derogatively like in “gagatasan ka lang niyan”, referring to unscrupulous behavior.

References to milk can be found in the Bible which portrays Palestine as the “land of milk and honey” and even the Koran describes milk as “pure and pleasant for those who drink it”.

In Greek mythology, the goddess Hera accidentally spilled her breast milk and it was transformed into the Milky Way. Closer to home is the Cambodian legend depicting milk as the elixir of immortality that the gods of Angkor fought over.

It is then only fitting that the Philippine dairy industry whose principal product is milk – a universal symbol of life and nourishment – is given a new lease on life not only through additional funding for the National Dairy Authority but also because of the revitalized and innovative leadership of the Dairy Confederation of the Philippines and the full cooperation and collaboration of dairy farmers and cooperatives.

Because of the growing demand for milk and other dairy products and the fact that a tropical country like the Philippines with its abundant rainfall is ideal for pasture lands, I cannot overemphasize the amazing potential of the Philippines to emerge as a dairy hub.

Technical expertise when it comes to raising animals for milk production is also not lacking in the country. Neither is there a dearth of individuals and groups willing to learn how to be effective and successful dairy farmers.

The Dairy Confederation of the Philippines and the National Dairy Authority also have no shortage of supporters and able partners in government who are serious about helping our dairy industry develop and our dairy farmers prosper. 

When I was Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, I did not have any second thoughts in initiating the allocation of an additional P50 million in the 2008 General Appropriations Act to the Philippine Dairy Authority for the build-up of dairy herds in the country. I knew it would be money well spent.

Every peso spent for the development of the dairy industry poses numerous potential rewards in terms of increased milk production, improvements in both the quality and quantity of dairy herds, additional employment, revenues from the sale of milk and milk products, enhanced incomes for rural families and better nutrition for children, especially for those living in the countryside.


The Philippine dairy industry has been progressively improving for the past decade and the advances are quantifiable.

Despite the global economic downturn during the last quarter of 2008, dairy cooperative farms scored big last year as the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics revealed that local dairy production still grew by almost 3.0%. Exports also grew by 6.22%. Available data also shows that since 2002, milk production in metric tons per day has increased by almost 100%.

Moreover, recent figures would indicate that we are slowly liberating ourselves from our dependency on imported milk and dairy products since imports of milk and allied goods have been gradually decreasing. Last year we saw overall milk imports decline by 11.66%. This is no small feat for an industry that is only really in its nascent stages.

Daily milk production as of 2008 is now pegged at more than 37,800 liters. Moreover, since ready to drink liquid milk imports decreased by a whopping 17% last year, the increase in local production means that locally produced liquid milk now accounts for 27% of the liquid milk supply up from 23% in 2007. This is more than a quarter of the liquid milk supply in the country and is truly something that all of you should be proud of.


Clearly, based on available empirical data, there is tremendous potential for growth in the dairy industry. The challenge now is to ensure that (1) industry stakeholders will make the most of these positive developments; and (2) farmers will be able to reap the benefits of this golden opportunity by being taught the skills they would need to capitalize on the prospective growth of the industry.

There are critical issues that must be addressed for this to happen:

1.    Links must be established between rural producers and urban consumers especially since specialty coffee shops in Metro Manila are increasing their demand for fresh milk.

2.    Farmer cooperatives must have better access to institutional credit to allow for herd expansion and better maintenance of animals.

3.    The issue of unproductive animals and better feeding practices must also be addressed.

4.    Access to veterinary and breeding services should be significantly improved.

5.    Farmers must be encouraged and taught to convert milk into other products such as cheese and native milk-based delicacies which will fetch higher prices than liquid milk. Pasteurization and other methods to increase the shelf-life of milk will also translate to more revenues for the farmers.

Competitiveness is crucial for the survival of small dairy farmers. Efforts must therefore be made to reduce the cost of production. Increasing productivity of the animals, enhanced health care and breeding facilities and management of dairy animals can reduce considerably the cost of milk production.

The theme for this year’s Dairy Confederation Convention – “Sa Dairy Ang Kita Ay Daily” – underscores the regular cash income that farmers will get from milk. Unlike crops such as rice, corn or vegetables that follow cycles of planting and harvesting, dairy farming assures rural folk of continuous income on a daily basis. Additionally, dairy farmers’ children are also guaranteed a fresh supply of nutritious milk daily.  Moreover, since dairy farming is not affected by weather conditions as much as agricultural farming is, there is relatively less risk in this endeavor.

Unfortunately, farmers still do not prioritize dairying when their crop yields are good and the weather is favorable. Dairy farming is considered by most as secondary to actual agricultural farming.

The Dairy Confederation must encourage a shift in mindset so that dairying will not be treated merely as an insurance against crop failure but must be valued as equally profitable as traditional farming.

As far as the government is concerned, its role is clear – it must provide adequate funding to promote and protect the dairy industry; it must ensure a fair playing field so that more cooperatives and the private sector will be encouraged to invest in the dairy industry; and it must provide the requisite incentives to give the industry the boost it needs to be truly dynamic and self-sufficient.

The Philippines has the dubious distinction of being the only country in Asia that has a single digit tariff on milk and milk products. Other Asian countries like India, Japan, Vietnam and Thailand all levy taxes more than 10 times the measly 3% that the Philippines imposes on imported milk. I am aware of moves from the National Dairy Authority and the Dairy Confederation of the Philippines to increase the current tariff from 3 to 18% which is the WTO bound rate for liquid milk but this proposal was turned down by the Tariff Commission.

If the Dairy Con and the NDA are still interested in pursuing this strategy to protect and develop the young Philippine dairy industry, make prices of locally-produced milk more competitive vis-à-vis imported brands, and to prevent our markets from being flooded with cheap imported milk, I shall be willing to sponsor a measure not only establishing a Milk Feeding Fund out of the tax  collection of the National Government from milk imports like what was filed in both Chambers of Congress in the past years but a measure actually mandating the imposition of higher tariffs on imported milk products.

The current tariff rate is abysmally low not only compared to the rates imposed by our neighboring countries; it is also very low compared to the bound rates allowed by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). In fact, the NDA points out that our actual applied tariff of 3% on milk imports is the same rate enforced by industrialized countries with highly developed dairy industries.

Certainly, we will be hard-pressed to fully develop our own dairy industry if we continue to impose such low taxes to the detriment of the fledgling dairy sector and to the disadvantage of small coop farmers whose local milk will never be able to compete with the very inexpensive imported milk products whose producers are subsidized by their respective governments.

Government must put realistic policies in place to make the Philippine dairy industry competitive and vibrant. But while the government is committed to providing all possible assistance to establish a vigorous dairy industry, there is urgent need for the wholehearted collaboration and support from the private sector to meet global challenges.

The support of the private sector is indispensable if the dairy industry will be able to fulfill its vast potentials. It will be instrumental in infusing additional funds and the needed skills that will propel the industry forward.

I urge you to take advantage of this largely untapped sector which, I am certain, shall be only too willing to invest in a growing industry. 

I am hopeful that this year’s Dairy Congress shall not only be an occasion for the exchange of ideas and strategies and a venue for all stakeholders to strengthen their commitment to the progress of the dairy industry but that this event shall also be an opportunity for you to take stock of the current situation of the dairy sector and its prospects and the chance to put together a veritable road map that will be traversed by the dairy industry in the years to come.

Allow me to end with this old proverb: “cream does not simply float to the top; it has to work its way up.” Like in everything else, the stakeholders of the Philippine dairy industry will have to roll up its sleeves and work doubly hard if, like cream, it wants to rise to the top of its game. With the commitment and enthusiasm you have shown today, I am certain that you would be up to the task.