Liquid milk equivalent conversion factors for milk and milk products in the Philippines

摘要

The conversion factors (CF) for liquid milk equivalent (LME) adopted by the Philippine govenment in assessing the country's dairy situation were studied and found defective and inappropriate. A technical working group (TWG) reviewed the existing CF and recommended a new set of CFs to reconcile inconsistencies in the dairy industry. Findings of the TWG were presented for comments in two fora composed of key people from the livestock, nutrition and agricultural statistics sectors. Data gathered by the group led to the derivation of the standard composition of local and imported dairy products, resulting in the generation of a new set of CFs. For dairy products falling under the harmonized coding system and tariff headings provided by the National Statistics Office (NSO), the recommended CFs to compute LME were based on the total milk solids (TMS) method. The formulas generated are as follows: TMS of Final Product CF=-------------------------------- and LME = volume of milk (kg) x CF. TMS of Whole MilkThe use of these formulas shows that imports account for more than 99percent of the country's supply and that based on RDA of 30 kg/person/year, there is a deficit of 34percent LME in the country's milk requirement. The data on milk and milk products, however, include feed grade milk products unfit for human consumption. Butter was included in the food consumption survey but not under the milk and milk products category.