Is it still cool? Japanese Dairy Technology October 9th 19:11

People enjoying chocolate smoothies with plenty of hot milk and milk at the cafe. In Thailand, demand for dairy products is steadily expanding due to income growth and health-oriented background. As the number of dairy farmers is decreasing in Japan, there is a movement to find business opportunities in anticipation of the expansion of the Thai market.
(General Director of Asia, Hiromi Iwama)

Develop demand for dairy products! Milk cafe

Recently, I heard that there is a cafe with milk and other dairy products on the front, and I immediately went to a store in Bangkok.

A monument of cattle is placed in the store, and the name is "Milkland".

The menu features a variety of dairy products such as milk, milk coffee, and ice cream. The store was crowded with female college students and families.

When I asked one of the students, he said, “I didn't like milk when I was a kid, but I started drinking because I knew it was good for my health.”

The increase in demand for dairy products in Thailand can also be seen from the data.
According to the summary of the German research firm "Statista", the market for dairy products such as milk, yogurt and cheese in Thailand is expected to reach $ 3.3 billion (about 350 billion yen), which has doubled over the past 10 years. .

Ranch experience tour is also popular

That said, Thailand's consumption is still low compared to developed countries in Europe and the United States.

According to Thai government agencies, per capita milk consumption in Thailand is 18 liters per year, less than one-sixth of the world average of 113 liters.

But conversely, the market is growing and there is still room for growth.

An organization that operates a milk café has started a ranch experience tour last year to further promote the appeal of dairy products.

It is said that many people participate in every weekend tour because they can enjoy activities such as milking cows and milking calves.

“Many young people are interested in our products that use milk. Experience tours help increase trust in products.”

Selling automatic milking machines to Southeast Asia

A manufacturer in Suzaka City, Nagano Prefecture has found business opportunities in the future of the Thai market. Most of the sales are industrial machinery, but dairy equipment was the main business in the early days, and we are still engaged in the manufacture and sale of automatic milking systems for small and medium dairy farmers.

In response to a request from the Thai agricultural authorities to introduce Japanese advanced technology, we have been introducing automatic milking systems on three dairy farms in Thailand since last year.

Most of the dairy farms in Thailand are not fully automated, and work is manual.

In contrast, the installed equipment automatically milks the cows, and the milk is sent to the cooling tank without touching the air.

Furthermore, after milking, it is automatically cleaned with a single button, keeping the equipment clean. The number of bacteria in raw milk has been reduced by 78% to 99% at the dairy farms introduced, and the quality has been greatly improved. The work time, which took about three and a half hours, was reduced to half.

In Thailand, about 30% of raw milk quality inspections are below the standard, and Thai agricultural authorities expect that equipment will be introduced.

The background is the decline in dairy farmers with aging

In fact, the reason behind this manufacturer's efforts to expand overseas is the decline in Japanese dairy farmers.

The number of dairy farmers, which was about 35,000 in 1999 20 years ago, has continued to decline, especially in small and medium-sized farms, and has now fallen to 15,000.

The number of dairy cows being raised has not fallen as much as the number of dairy cows as the number of dairy farms has increased due to the concentration of dairy farmers. For me it was a headache.

Under such circumstances, the Southeast Asian market such as Thailand attracted attention.

There are over 19,000 dairy farmers in Thailand, and most dairy farms are less than 100. While there are many small and medium dairy farmers in Japan, automatic milking systems like those in Japan are not popular.

While the shrinking of the Japanese market is inevitable, we have found an opportunity in Southeast Asia where there is a commonality in dairy farming, etc., and there is room to utilize our technology.

Cost reduction through collaboration with local suppliers

On the other hand, no matter how good the quality, the price is too high to reach the local dairymen.

In order to get it bought, it was necessary to reduce costs by localizing parts.

Therefore, we made use of the advantage of the land that had already entered Thailand with industrial machinery, and cultivated a parts manufacturer that can manufacture the materials cheaply while ensuring the same quality as Japan, and made efforts to reduce costs.

As a result, the proportion of local parts procurement has reached more than 50%, and we have established a system that can supply automatic milking systems from around 1 million yen, which is less than half compared to Japan.

Already sold to 70 dairy farmers in Thailand, we are aiming to expand into neighboring Myanmar. It is a strategy to compensate for the shrinking Japanese market with overseas expansion.

Naoya Sakaguchi, who is in charge of overseas sales, expressed his passion for the main business during the early days.

“The ASEAN market (Southeast Asian market), especially Thailand and Myanmar, are very advantageous as a place where Japanese dairy technology can be developed. I can't do it "

Is it still cool? Japanese technology

In the field of dairy equipment, it seems that the latest automatic milking systems manufactured by overseas manufacturers are the mainstay of large-scale dairy farms with more than several hundred heads.

This manufacturer also sells imported products from overseas manufacturers for large-scale dairy farms, but it is said that they are particular about the technology for small and medium-sized dairy farmers that they have cultivated in-house. Under such circumstances, we decided on this market after identifying the market that suits our company.

Many Japanese companies are facing the shrinking domestic market, not limited to dairy farming. However, if you change your perspective, there are still many markets where you can make use of the technology you have cultivated in Japan.

I felt that through interviews with manufacturers who found business opportunities in Southeast Asia.

Reporter for Asia
Hiroaki Iwama

In 2000, the Ministry of Economy,
Finance / securities,
Covering the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry