Photo courtesy of Bangkok Post

The Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister, Capt Thamanat Prompow, has called for immediate action to tackle a milk oversupply issue after farmers in Lop Buri province in Thailand dumped over 40 tonnes of milk in protest. The incident underscores the financial difficulties faced by dairy farmers, prompting urgent measures by the Dairy Farming Promotion Organisation of Thailand (DPO) to address the crisis. Negotiations are reportedly underway, with solutions anticipated in the coming days.

The protest occurred in the Nong Ree sub-district of Lam Sonthi district when the DPO temporarily stopped accepting milk deliveries that exceeded agreed-upon limits during the holiday period. Due to limited production capacity, the DPO had rejected these excess deliveries. Director Watcharee Wannasri noted that the raw milk that arrived outside the existing memoranda of understanding (MoUs) was sold at lower prices, as they weren't pre-approved volumes.

Efforts to find a resolution involve coordinating responses from government agencies and private stakeholders. Ms. Watcharee explained that production capacity had been underutilized, but now plans to incrementally absorb the extra supply are underway to provide temporary relief. Cooperatives responsible for discarding the milk will need to compensate their members, according to the DPO.

Looking forward, the involved parties aim to swiftly conclude negotiations to stabilize the situation, ensuring farmers’ livelihoods are protected. The DPO is working to restore normalcy and may adjust capacity and agreements to prevent future incidents. Thorough collaboration across sectors is essential for an effective long-term resolution, reported Bangkok Post.

Key Takeaways

• Thai dairy farmers protested by dumping over 40 tonnes of milk due to oversupply.

• The DPO is negotiating with farmers and stakeholders to resolve the crisis.

• Temporary solutions include gradually absorbing extra milk quantities.

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Adapted by ASEAN Now from Bangkok Post 2026-01-09

 

 

So they cannot process any extra milk into butter, cheese or anything else. Amazing Thailand.

Maybe they could start a campaign to encourage Thais to drink more milk, (I do not anyone that does) but then we had the situation last year that there was not enough milk.

2 hours ago, GreasyFingers said:

So they cannot process any extra milk into butter, cheese or anything else. Amazing Thailand.

Maybe they could start a campaign to encourage Thais to drink more milk, (I do not anyone that does) but then we had the situation last year that there was not enough milk.

Thailand does not make any butter or cheese, and never has, cheese has been tried but never got past the drawing board stage.

Dairy farmers do have problems, as over 50% have given up over the past three years, as it simply cannot make a profit. It does not help that they are inefficient, and their management is not very efficient

As for the DPO the Op forgot to say that they are in debt to the tune of 800 million baht (I think I have got the noughts in the right place).

It sounds if the DPO are well wrong, they know how much milk Nong Ree sends to them each day, cows are not taps, you can not turn them off just because it is a holiday, they can not just put quotas on milk centers sending milk for a week.

As for sending milk outside, they are existing melamedim ....as said, Thailand is down 50% in milk compared to 3 years ago, the factory at Mortlec Saraburi where Nong Ree sends it milk, is well down on processing, for some reason that is just an excuse not to receive the milk for a week.

The DPO's marketing arm is the Thai Denmark milk brand, the only Thai milk company that does not mix imported milk powder to their milk like other milk company's which I think is why they are in debt big time,as milk powder comes in to Thailand at about 15 baht /Kg as opposed to milk company's having to buy in milk in at about 24 baht/Kg.

3 hours ago, GreasyFingers said:

So they cannot process any extra milk into butter, cheese or anything else. Amazing Thailand.

Maybe they could start a campaign to encourage Thais to drink more milk, (I do not anyone that does) but then we had the situation last year that there was not enough milk.

Maybe they should stop miking almonts 😁

Most of the milk in groceries, Makro/BigC/Lotus, have variety of milk.

Store milk looks exactly like whatever he is pouring...,most white milk looks like buttermilk, a slight yellow hue. It tastes worse than it looks.

I remember reading a month or two ago, in ASEAN or a FB news, about Thai milk...something I think was about safety of the Thai milk.

Dairy is not native to the region – in fact, a vast number of Asian people are still lactose intolerant.

13 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister, Capt Thamanat Prompow, has called for immediate action to tackle a milk oversupply issue after farmers in Lop Buri province in Thailand dumped over 40 tonnes of milk in protest.

The problem being it's too expensive.

Thai milk has priced itself out of it's market.

I used to drink lots, but switched to powdered to save money.

Interesting. Earlier this week, after New Year, I noticed both Villa and Big C were short on milk. They both had some - but the fridges were half empty and some brands were sold out (e.g. 1 litre of Meiji). However yesterday it seemed almost back to normal. I just figured they needed a few days to catch up after a long holiday.

Farmers are protesting the condition they created. That’s rich.

2 hours ago, ronnie50 said:

Interesting. Earlier this week, after New Year, I noticed both Villa and Big C were short on milk.

Same to me.

Second time I had to resort to smaller bottle as the usual 2l was out.

That is one of Thailands problems they do not have Experts in charge !! What does Mr flour know about Agriculture !!! read someware he is an expert on flooding now !! these so called experts are only intrested in what they can get out of it for themselves not intrested in the people

10 hours ago, kwilco said:

Dairy is not native to the region – in fact, a vast number of Asian people are still lactose intolerant.

They remove lactose using lactase enzymes. So lactose intolerant people can still drink milk

Some farms produce cheese, specialist cheese farms to supply restaurants in bangkok e.g. littlegoatfarm.co.th

10 hours ago, kwilco said:

Dairy is not native to the region – in fact, a vast number of Asian people are still lactose intolerant.

Up to 2/3 of people worldwide are lactose intolerant, and many still drink milk and don't understand why they have problems. More Asians and blacks than whites on average also. Still Thai schools pass out milk to all the students, thinking they need cows milk for Vitamin D, which the sun here gives enough of to most, and calcium, which also has other sources than milk.

10 hours ago, kwilco said:

Dairy is not native to the region – in fact, a vast number of Asian people are still lactose intolerant.

5 hours ago, MarkBR said:

They remove lactose using lactase enzymes. So lactose intolerant people can still drink milk

Some farms produce cheese, specialist cheese farms to supply restaurants in bangkok e.g. littlegoatfarm.co.th

this is a special "lactose free" product what is your point?

5 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

Up to 2/3 of people worldwide are lactose intolerant, and many still drink milk and don't understand why they have problems. More Asians and blacks than whites on average also. Still Thai schools pass out milk to all the students, thinking they need cows milk for Vitamin D, which the sun here gives enough of to most, and calcium, which also has other sources than milk.

Initially most humans were lactose intolerant by default – the ability to digest lactose into adulthood (known as lactase persistence) is a relatively recent genetic adaptation that evolved in some populations after the development of dairy farming.

4 minutes ago, kwilco said:

Initially most humans were lactose intolerant by default – the ability to digest lactose into adulthood (known as lactase persistence) is a relatively recent genetic adaptation that evolved in some populations after the development of dairy farming.

My dad was a milkman back in the day. My family LIVED on dairy since he got it all free. We adapted without any problems I was aware of.

I do agree humans are NOT meant to drink cow's milk. The dairy industry put out a HUGE campaign (remember the "Got Milk?" commercials?) and to hell with whether or not it was healthy as long as it was profitable.

3 hours ago, HappyExpat57 said:

My dad was a milkman back in the day. My family LIVED on dairy since he got it all free. We adapted without any problems I was aware of.

I do agree humans are NOT meant to drink cow's milk. The dairy industry put out a HUGE campaign (remember the "Got Milk?" commercials?) and to hell with whether or not it was healthy as long as it was profitable.

“adapted”??? – OMG!! - How old was your dad? People started evolving lactose tolerance through genetic mutations around 5,000 to 9,000 years ago! The trait became common in Europe around 1,000 BC

In Southeast Asia, lactose intolerance is extremely common, with prevalence rates often cited between 85% and 98%! – the result is a lot of milk/dairy products being “played with” or adulterated to make them more palatable to the general population. A lot of milk bought is sterilised and has flavours and sugars added.

Milk and other dairy products are a top source of saturated fat in the Western diet. It can contribute to heart disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s. Dairy is also linked to an increased risk of some cancers, e.g., prostate cancer.

Milk is made more tolerable through the addition of the enzyme lactase, which breaks down lactose into more digestible simple sugars, this is done by adding lactase directly to the milk. This method is commonly used for producing pre-packaged lactose-free milk. In big commercial production, milk is passed over a lactase enzyme in a filter; this breaks down the lactose as the milk flows past, but the finished product does not contain any enzyme itself.

Another way is fermentation, like yoghurt and cheese, which are often better tolerated by the lactose-intolerant.

I often wonder if some foreigners realise they are lactose intolerant - bloating, stomach cramps, farting, diarrhoea – sound familiar???

The result of these methods is that they have similar nutritional value but a slightly sweeter taste due to the presence of the simple sugars. These specialised milk products are widely available at grocery stores, allowing consumers to choose a product that suits their dietary needs. Not sure that many foreigners actually read the labels, though.

Try making cheese ?

16 minutes ago, geye said:

Try making cheese ?

Cheese is incredibly unpopular in Thailand.

On 1/9/2026 at 9:14 PM, kickstart said:

Thailand does not make any butter or cheese, and never has, cheese has been tried but never got past the drawing board stage.

Dairy farmers do have problems, as over 50% have given up over the past three years, as it simply cannot make a profit. It does not help that they are inefficient, and their management is not very efficient

As for the DPO the Op forgot to say that they are in debt to the tune of 800 million baht (I think I have got the noughts in the right place).

It sounds if the DPO are well wrong, they know how much milk Nong Ree sends to them each day, cows are not taps, you can not turn them off just because it is a holiday, they can not just put quotas on milk centers sending milk for a week.

As for sending milk outside, they are existing melamedim ....as said, Thailand is down 50% in milk compared to 3 years ago, the factory at Mortlec Saraburi where Nong Ree sends it milk, is well down on processing, for some reason that is just an excuse not to receive the milk for a week.

The DPO's marketing arm is the Thai Denmark milk brand, the only Thai milk company that does not mix imported milk powder to their milk like other milk company's which I think is why they are in debt big time,as milk powder comes in to Thailand at about 15 baht /Kg as opposed to milk company's having to buy in milk in at about 24 baht/Kg.

Nonsense! Thailand produces a lot of cheese and butter. You may prefer imported brands, but Allowrie butter is available everywhere, along with a long list of Thai cheeses. Thai people love cheese, but generally can't afford the imported products, so they buy locally produced brands.

Fresh milk is not mixed with milk powder if it is labelled fresh milk. UHT milk and formulations use milk powders, but this is a common practice globally.

If it is labelled fresh, it's 100% fresh cow's milk. We seem to get this (conspiracy) nonsense in every thread about milk, that it is mixed with imported powders.

Example, from the Meiji website:

Meiji Pasteurized 100% Fresh Cow’s Milk made from 100% fine quality milk to offer you the delicious, rich and creamy taste with rich natural nutrients such as protein, calcium and vitamin B2. 

As is obvious in the OP, fresh raw milk is abundant in Thailand.

6 hours ago, HappyExpat57 said:

My dad was a milkman back in the day. My family LIVED on dairy since he got it all free. We adapted without any problems I was aware of.

I do agree humans are NOT meant to drink cow's milk. The dairy industry put out a HUGE campaign (remember the "Got Milk?" commercials?) and to hell with whether or not it was healthy as long as it was profitable.

Oh, no, not another "humans are NOT meant to drink cow's milk" story. Who decided what humans are meant to eat or drink? Humans can and do and always have eaten everything under the sun. If you believe in God and creation, milk has been a staple since man walked on this earth. If you believe in Evolution, humans have been drinking it for at least 9000 years as part of the evolutionary process.

Milk is an amazing food and one of the best protein sources, both casein and whey.

7 hours ago, JensenZ said:

If it is labelled fresh, it's 100% fresh cow's milk. We seem to get this (conspiracy) nonsense in every thread about milk, that it is mixed with imported powders.

Example, from the Meiji website:

Meiji Pasteurized 100% Fresh Cow’s Milk made from 100% fine quality milk to offer you the delicious, rich and creamy taste with rich natural nutrients such as protein, calcium and vitamin B2. 

As is obvious in the OP, fresh raw milk is abundant in Thailand.

I don't see the word 'fresh', which I always assume means dried, powdered and reconstituted.

8 hours ago, kwilco said:

Cheese is incredibly unpopular in Thailand.

Maybe because it is expensive ?

Milk in Thailand tastes not so good.

But I buy yoghurt , a lot.

And Gouda from aro-makro.

Still dumping 40 tonnes of milk is such a waste.

On 1/10/2026 at 12:39 AM, kwilco said:

Dairy is not native to the region – in fact, a vast number of Asian people are still lactose intolerant.

Very true - we get lactose free milk and the wife likes it with coffee - in the past milk made her feel ill. No other Thai she knows drinks milk - they all use that fake powder in coffee (like coffee mate) - 3 in 1 coffee very poplar here for that reason.

If Supply exceeds Demand, the price goes DOWN.

If Demand exceeds Supply, the price goes UP.

Except in Thailand.

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I don't see the word 'fresh', which I always assume means dried, powdered and reconstituted.

Check the Meiji website.

There's an article in the Bangkok Post explaining where the misinformation about Fresh milk being made from powdered milk started. I'm not sure if I can link it, so you may want to search for it on Google. The article is titled "Setting the Record Straight".

"Savita received the most backlash because of her negative comments about local cow's milk. In their comments, many accused her of devaluing Thailand's milk and farmers. An example of her comments includes: "Most cow milk in Thailand is not real milk. It is mixed with powdered milk."

Many people have now adopted this idea as fact, and it has been repeated numerous times in this forum.

Don't worry, Captain Heroin will get to the bottom of this.

(from google search) "The "Imperial" brand offers various butter products, including a salted butter blend (which contains a mix of butter, palm oil, salt, and milk powder) that is widely available in Thai supermarkets."

Maybe if got rid of 'blending materials' they could make real butter using more milk that might even taste good....

9 hours ago, FlorC said:

Maybe because it is expensive ?

No, it's to do with culture and history and lactose intolerance – dairy products are relatively new to Thai people. I worked with hundreds of Thai people and many of them hated cheese – they also think it's what makes foreigners smell.

Milk in Thailand: read the label – “milk” isn’t just milk…

When people talk about “milk”, they often assume it’s one simple product. It isn’t — especially in tropical countries like Thailand, where heat and transport heavily influence how milk is processed and sold. Always read the label.

Core milk processing methods include...

Pasteurised milk

Heated to about 72°C for 15 seconds, then rapidly cooled. This kills most harmful bacteria but still requires refrigeration and has a short shelf life.

Homogenisation

Milk is forced under pressure to break fat globules into tiny particles so the cream doesn’t separate. This affects texture, not safety.

Standardisation

Cream is removed and then added back in precise amounts to produce skim, low-fat, or whole milk.

UHT (Ultra-High Temperature) milk

Heated to 135–150°C for a few seconds, killing all bacteria and spores. Combined with aseptic packaging (e.g., Tetra Pak), it can be stored unopened at room temperature for months — hence its dominance in Thailand.

Fortification

Many products add vitamins (commonly A and D).

Thailand is in the tropics and has special needs for selling milk in such a warm climate – because refrigeration can’t be guaranteed everywhere, Thailand relies heavily on:

UHT milk for long-life, ambient storage

Pasteurised chilled milk for shorter supply chains

PASS+ (UV treatment) — a Thai innovation using ultraviolet light to reduce microorganisms and extend freshness, mainly benefiting local farmers

Other common dairy products include…

Condensed & evaporated milk (shelf-stable, widely used)

Yogurt & drinking yogurt (fermented, popular and widely exported)

Coconut milk (not dairy, but a staple) – traditionally extracted by pressing grated coconut, sold fresh or processed into shelf-stable cartons and cans.

Why this matters – School milk programs drive demand for UHT and pasteurised milk

Shelf life, not “quality”, often determines how milk is processed in hot climates, and taste may be different from “at home”.

Bottom line: when discussing milk in Thailand, you’re usually talking about how it’s processed, not whether it’s “real milk”. The label tells you everything.