While many consumers in the west try to wean themselves off butter in favour of lower fat alternatives, Indians are increasing their consumption of butter and ghee.
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According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, India accounts for nearly half of the world’s total butter consumption. [NB: For the purposes of the FAO’s research, butter includes variants like ghee.] According to its figures, India consumed 2.3m tonnes of butter in the fiscal year ended April 2002, of an overall global consumption of 5.5m tonnes. Moreover, India’s butter consumption rose to 2.3m tonnes from just 1.5m tonnes in fiscal ’01 – an increase of 53% in just one year.
Given this increase in consumption, both local companies and multinationals with subsidiaries in India are seizing the initiative. According to a report in the Econimc Times of Inda, Nestlé India recently entered the local butter market, while local giant Britannia has also made an initial foray. Compatriot company Amul is also investing heavily in the sector.
According to Amul’s Vipul Mittal: “The consumption of butter has improved significantly in smaller towns, as increase in income levels has created a whole new class of butter consumers in the country. Then proliferation of refrigerators at home and improvement in availability of cold chain in the country have also led to spike in butter consumption in the country.”
The ICRA research agency commented that data indicates that, as household income improves, there tends to be a re-allocation of expenditure in favour of milk and milk products. A further factor underlying the FAO figures is Indians’ tendency to use significant quantities of butter and ghee in their food preparations.
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