School Milk Crisis as Local Dairy Cooperatives Seek Help

Picture courtesy of TopNews.

The Cha-am–Huai Sai Dairy Cooperative in Phetchaburi Province has warned of a mounting crisis in the school milk programme, with excess milk production threatening the livelihoods of dairy farmers across more than ten provinces in central Thailand.

Mr Somkuan Sawangarom, manager of the cooperative, revealed that the cooperative purchases approximately 23 tonnes of raw milk daily from local farmers. While part of this milk is used for school milk production, a significant portion remains unsold, forcing the cooperative to sell some milk at reduced prices and risking financial losses this year.

“The core issue stems from an imbalance in the allocation of school milk quotas, which do not match the number of students, factories or local suppliers,” Mr Somkuan said. “Additionally, free trade policies have allowed imported milk powder to enter Thailand at lower prices, around 14–15 baht per kilogram, while domestic raw milk sells for 20–22 baht per kilogram, creating a pricing gap that discourages private sector buyers.”

Currently, the cooperative has approximately 10 million UHT school milk cartons in stock, valued at over 80 million baht. During school holidays, only around 3 million cartons are sold, leaving seven million cartons unsold. With limited financial reserves, the cooperative can continue purchasing raw milk for roughly one more month unless the government intervenes.

Mr Somkuan called on the government to provide urgent financial support and to consider long-term solutions, such as redistributing school milk quotas to better match regional supply and demand and encouraging children to consume milk year-round. He warned that failure to act could escalate into a nationwide milk surplus crisis, similar to recent agricultural protests over corn and cassava prices.

The crisis is further compounded by financial difficulties at the Dairy Farming Promotion Organization of Thailand (DPO), which owes farmers between 800 million and 1 billion baht. The DPO produces 400 tonnes of milk per day and any disruption to its operations would overwhelm private sector capacity, worsening the national milk surplus.

Local dairy farmers and cooperative leaders are urging the government to step in immediately to provide funding, ensure liquidity for the DPO and stabilise the domestic dairy market.

  Adapted by Asean Now from TopNews 2025-08-27