Experts believe that Iran will face a shortage of baby formula in the near future.
Baby formula is an essential commodity needed by infants and kids. Some 85% of raw materials such as whey, lactose, oils and special proteins needed for producing baby formula are imported and only 15%, such as no-fat milk, are made in Iran, ILNA reported.
Despite the high production of raw milk, the whey needed for milk powder production needs to be sterilized in three stages and requires equipment that are not available in Iran.
Some milk powder producers have a two-month supply of raw materials left and it is estimated that there is going to be a crisis for supplying milk powder in the market as they have a problem buying the raw materials.
According to the Statistical Center of Iran, total production of raw milk by industrial and traditional dairy farms stood at 8.6 million tons in the year ending March 2020.
Statistics by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration show the country exports 700,000-900,000 tons of raw milk per year, which is equal to 9-10% of total raw milk production, he added.
Noting that unofficial exports of raw milk stand at 1 million tons (in the form of 80,000-100,000 tons of milk powder), Esmaeil Khatami-Moqaddam, an inspector of Iran Dairy Industries Society, said, “That is 10% of the overall output of raw milk in Iran. A portion of milk powder produced in local factories is being stored, as per the country’s strategic reserves, i.e., 500,000 tons or 5% of the total output. Dairy farms consume a small fraction of total raw milk output, i.e., 5%. In other words, 5% of milk produced in dairy farms are directly used in their plants for purposes such as feeding the calves. In all, 30% of raw milk produced in Iran must be eliminated from per capita consumption.”
