School milk in Thailand

The Thailand school milk programme is an excellent example to demonstrate the political, economic and social benefits of a school milk programme. Over a period of 15 years the following are some of the major results:

• Increased milk drinking (per capita) by 10 times
• Increased ready-to-drink milk market by a factor of 31 times
• Increased local milk production by a factor of 10
• Reduced reliance on imports; today over 80% self-reliance
• Improved health conditions for children (in conjunction with other health programmes) 
• Creation of approximately 250,000 new jobs 

Thailand, an Asian country with no history of dairy and milk consumption, got its first dairy in 1962. From 1962 till 1984, efforts from the government were concentrated on developing a Thai dairy industry. However in 1984, excess milk production led the government to create a school milk programme as a way to channel excess milk production.

Currently about 6 million children are under this scheme. Milk is supplied to each child everyday of the school year and also on 30 non-school vacation days, fully subsidized by the government. Both pasteurized and UHT milk is used. The government issues a fixed price for each milk type. The livestock department of the Ministry of Agriculture manages this programme. All suppliers use a single, special, dedicated design.

(Model: Financed and led by the government)

For more information please contact our Food for development office