Getting milk from Europe"s cows : problem or prospect for Africa?

With a focus on policy implications, this report examines the relationship between dairy imports and the prospects for dairy development. An initial section reveals that every country in sub-Saharan Africa is currently dependent on commercial and/or food aid imports to meet its consumer demand for milk; the biggest importers are Nigeria, Somalia, Angola, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, and Tanzania. Following a discussion of the various factors causing the increases in milk demand and imports (e.g., population and income growth, low domestic dairy prices, and increasing urbanization), the possible adverse effects of a high dairy import level are considered. The latter include foreign exchange constraints, distributional imbalances, and depressed domestic milk production. Finally, the crucial role of government policy in halting or reversing the decline in dairy self-sufficiency is discussed, as are the prospects for using dairy food aid as an instrument to assist in national dairy development. A 12-item bibliography (1978-84) is appended.