Challenges and Obstacles to Dairy Consumption in Iran from Stakeholders’ Perspectives Using a Food System Approach
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
3. Results
- supply chain challenges;
- consumption challenges;
- sectoral policy challenges;
- contextual challenges.
“Our dairy farms now do not have water to give to their cows. They have to buy water and bring it in a container. We should have had planning for our dairy farm… but unfortunately, this has not happened and many governmental farms are still developing”(A member of an industrial association).
“Perhaps due to problems in the production units, they are unable to implement everything, as their costs go up. For instance, it might be necessary to make fundamental changes in their system, or they may lack the required workforce to ensure the necessary conditions due to financial issues”.
“Experts who express non-expert opinions in areas outside of their specialization can be harmful. For instance, making non-expert and non-specialized statements about the shelf life of sterile milk and preservatives can lead to criticism of the dairy industry”.
“More important than distribution is how the retailers handle the product. When you deliver yogurt to a shopkeeper and tell him “Hey, this yogurt has no preservatives and should go in the refrigerator”, instead, he leaves it on the doorstep”.
“Unfortunately, we are facing a challenge in our country regarding per capita consumption. Our per capita consumption has shown a downward trend”.
“Nowadays, our dairy consumption as doctors with relatively good living standards compared to the general public has become more limited”.
“In my opinion, our problem with dairy consumption is closely related to traditional medicine, which is a very big problem. We need to address this issue first; we can no longer ignore it… Traditional medicine is against dairy products in our country, especially industrial dairy products”(an academic member in the field of nutrition).
“Traders are no longer interested in importing high-quality goods. They prefer to buy low-quality livestock feed at a cheaper price because the government has to pay for it and they prefer to pay less”.
“With the removal of preferential exchange rates, the prices of barley, corn, and soybean reached nearly six times higher which sharply increased the price of dairy products”.
“Companies should be allowed to offer their products based on their fixed price. This way, their products’ quality will not be compromised… if the final price is 50 Rials, I should be allowed to offer it for 50 Rials. Since I am forced to offer it for 40 Rials, I will compromise on its quality, and quantity, or even shut it down altogether”.
“There is a vibe of distrust that pervades all areas. When there is distrust, even if the dairy industry produces ten good products, I criticize it, just as I am distrustful of my government, and even if they do ten good things, I don’t see it at all because the principle is distrust, the principle is non-acceptance. Our most significant problem as a nation is the issue of trust”.
“For example, in some places where livestock farms are located, the farm owners dig wells and deepen them up to 300 m underground, extracting salty water from there, which can destroy the soil as well”(An interviewee from a trade union).
“We have different laws, and along with them, we have different institutions and ministries…currently, two ministries claim responsibility for the dairy industry”.
“Management is also a section, but sanctions have become the main excuse for us to blame everything. Today, we blame sanctions for everything, even if it doesn’t rain, we may say it’s because of the sanctions”!
“There is a lot of bias in milk policy-making because when governments make decisions, they often do not know how to do it due to a lack of experience in this field”.
“No one cares about long-term planning, especially in the food industry…… Policymaking in production is like using a Band-Aid…As we don’t have a proper foundation when the new government comes, it feels that the previous actions were wrong”(A member of a governmental monitoring system).
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
- Ministry of Agriculture Jihad (Deputies of Livestock Affairs and commercial development)
- Institute of Planning Research, Agricultural Economy and Rural Development
- Secretariat for the Supreme Council of Health and Food Security
- National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute
- Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Tehran University
- Iran Veterinary Organization
- Iran Food and Drug Administration
- Consumers and Producers Protection Organization
- Iran feed grain importer union
- Livestock feed producers
- Cattle farmers
- Association of Industrial Milk Powder Producers
- The Iranian Cattle Breeders’ Association
- The Iranian Dairy Industries Association
- Dairy Products Distribution Company
- Association of Dairy Products Retailers
- Traditional dairy product retailers
- Chain stores
References
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Theme | Sub-Theme | Open Code |
---|---|---|
Unsustainable development of milk and dairy industries | Unsustainable development of the livestock and dairy industry | Desultory development of industrial farms |
Neglecting the water resources in the development of the livestock industry | ||
Excess capacity building in the livestock sector | ||
Excess capacity building in dairy processing | ||
Neglecting smallholder livestock production | ||
Dependency in the milk and dairy industry | Dependence on import for livestock feeding supply | |
Absence of any plan to reduce import dependency | ||
Difficulties in importing equipment and technology for the dairy industry | ||
Dependency of the dairy industry on foreign countries for their technologies | ||
Decreased commercial interactions due to sanctions | ||
Existence of monopoly in the dairy chain | Granting import and distribution licenses of livestock feeds to specific groups | |
The limitation of the number of importers due to the increased capital requirement | ||
The monopoly of dairy industries in the domestic and international markets | ||
Main shares of dairy production with large producers | ||
Inadequacy of government livestock feed supplies due to inappropriate distribution | The livestock farmers, mainly traditional ones, receive insufficient livestock feed from the government. | |
The receipt of livestock feed by some units at prices higher than the government prices | ||
High final price of milk and dairy | High cost of milk and dairy production | Intermittent shortages of imported livestock feeds |
Increase in global prices of imported livestock feeds | ||
Higher fixed price of governmental imported livestock feeds in comparison with global prices | ||
Increasing the price of domestic livestock feeds | ||
High cost of milk and dairy production inputs, other than feeds | ||
Reduction in production efficiency due to the use of low-quality livestock feeds | ||
Low efficiency of milk production in hot and dry weather | ||
Increase in the governmental exchange rate of the Rial Vs US Dollar | ||
Economic sanctions | ||
Inflation | ||
Decrease in per capita dairy consumption | ||
The high cost of transporting dairy products to the market | The not dedicated and unorganized market for distributing dairy products | |
Disruption of dairy products’ distribution due to the desultory development of chain stores | ||
The high cost of distributing dairy products | ||
Lack of economic justification for milk and dairy production | Very low-profit margins for milk and dairy production | Not providing sufficient profit margins for livestock farmers |
Non-profitability of smallholder livestock | ||
Non-profitability of the dairy industry | ||
Profitability of powdered milk | ||
Lack of investment in the milk and dairy industry due to insufficient profit | ||
The low financial return on investment in the dairy industry | ||
Lack of the same financial benefit for different parts of the chain | Asymmetrical distribution of profits through the supply chain | |
Unsustainable financial support for production | Unsustainable government financial support | |
Banks not providing financial sources | ||
Inconsistent quality of livestock feed, milk, and dairy products | Low-quality domestic and imported livestock feeds | Low quality of imported livestock feeds due to the sanctions |
Quality reduction or spoilage of livestock feeds during storage and transportation (while importing) | ||
Lower quality of domestic fodder in comparison with international standards | ||
Low-quality raw milk | Inadequate access to high-quality livestock feed for raw milk production | |
Inadequate access to medicine and vaccines for livestock | ||
Low safety and quality of milk collected from traditional livestock farms | Low quality and safety of produced milk in traditional livestock farms | |
Carrying out the cycle of milking, transporting, and processing traditional milk in an unfavorable way | ||
Uncertain safety and quality of traditional dairy products | The source of raw milk for traditional dairy shops is not verified | |
The possibility of using low-quality raw milk in traditional dairy shops | ||
Lack of sufficient training regarding compliance with hygienic principles in traditional processing | ||
The unaffordability of implementing hygienic requirements in different parts | High cost of raw milk quality control tests | |
High cost of livestock mechanization | ||
High cost of implementing hygienic regulations for factories | ||
The high cost of repairing refrigerated cars | ||
Absence of the economic justification for keeping dairy products in a refrigerator in shops | ||
Decreasing the quality or spoilage of dairy products during transportation and distribution | The storage of dairy products outside of refrigeration by shopkeepers | |
The lack of proper training in the storage of dairy products during distribution | ||
The possibility of refrigerators being turned off in rented distribution vehicles | ||
Poor monitoring system/quality control of milk and dairy | Inadequate supervision of raw milk production and transportation cycle | Lack of supervision of the veterinary organization on traditional livestock farms |
Not evaluating raw milk delivered to brokers | ||
Lack of veterinary supervision of milk discharge in the factory | ||
The possibility of factories not returning contaminated milk and buying it at a lower price | ||
Low efficiency of dairy safety monitoring systems | Lack of serious and systematic monitoring of the safety of dairy products | |
Absence of independent and non-governmental organizations for quality monitoring | ||
Poor inspection of traditional dairy units | ||
Inability to identify all chemical contaminants | ||
Concern about the presence of chemical pollutants in industrial dairy | ||
Concern about microbial contamination of traditional dairy units | ||
Propaganda regarding the quality of industrialized dairy products | Rumors about the dairy industry | Spreading of rumors about the safety risks of dairy products due to the conflict of interest between rival groups |
Neglect and defaming of traditional dairy industries by the industry and universities | ||
Destruction of the cultural value of traditional products with industrial production | ||
Rumors against industrial dairy products | ||
Rumors about the poor quality of milk | ||
Existing false statements regarding dairy products | Non-expert false opinion in the field of dairy | |
The unaccountability of individuals regarding non-expert opinions in the food industry | ||
Inadequate utilization of scientific evidence | Speaking without evidence among experts and doctors | |
The acceptance of statements without evidence by experts, educated individuals, and the public | ||
Limited export of dairy products | Most dairy products cannot be exported | |
The difficulty of obtaining new export markets for producers | ||
Lack of diversification of export markets due to sanctions | ||
Inefficient trade unions | The existence of a large number of unions/associations | |
The weakness of associations to influence government decisions |
Themes | Open Codes |
---|---|
The insignificance of milk products in Iranian food culture | The low share of milk products in Iranian traditional foods |
Avoidance of dairy products in Iranian society | |
Reduction in dairy consumption | Decrease in per capita consumption of dairy products |
Decrease in per capita consumption of dairy products in higher deciles of income | |
Not desirable taste of dairy products | |
Failure to implement programs to support the increase in dairy consumption | |
The reduced purchasing power of consumers | Reduced real income due to inflation |
Increase in dairy price | |
Increase the sales of more affordable dairy products | |
Decreased demand for luxury dairy products | |
Expectations from the government to control the market price | Public expectation of government intervention(s) in the market. |
The high sensitivity of society toward the price of dairy products. | |
Not believing in the necessity of dairy consumption in some groups | The belief about the harmfulness of dairy consumption in some groups |
Not believing in the necessity of dairy consumption by some people and elites | |
Traditional medicine’s opposition to dairy consumption | |
Discouraging the consumption of dairy by vegetarians | |
Consumers are concerned about the safety risks in industrial dairy | Concerns about the use of additives, preservatives, and the presence of chemicals in dairy products |
Lack of transparency in issues related to safety risks and making expediency a priority | |
Providing false information about milk and dairy products |
Theme | Sub-Theme | Open Codes |
---|---|---|
Subsidizing animal feed policy | Strengthening and continuing to prioritize the dependence on imported livestock feed | Absence of any plan to reduce import dependency |
Lack of investment in new methods of providing livestock feed due to rent | ||
Infeasibility of alternative feeds’ production due to the lower price of domestically produced feeds than imported ones | ||
Economic burden of providing livestock feed for the government | The heavy burden of financing livestock feed for the government | |
Troubles in the allocation of foreign currency | Inadequate allocation of foreign currency to supply livestock feed | |
Delay in the allocation of foreign currency to import livestock feed | ||
Inappropriate provision and distribution of livestock feeds | Import of livestock feeds without specific planning | |
Inadequate supply of some livestock feeds | ||
Delay in the supply of some livestock feeds | ||
Economic rent and distributing parts of subsidized livestock feed through the open market | ||
Low-quality of imported livestock feeds | compromising the quality of livestock feeds due to their lack in the market | |
Buying lower-quality livestock feed due to the government’s willingness to allocate less foreign currency | ||
The low quality of imported inputs due to the allocation of foreign currency | ||
Elevating fixed exchange rate for animal feed import by government | Deficiency of working capital | Increase capital needed to import livestock feed |
Increasing livestock feed price | ||
Livestock farmers’ insufficient capital to buy governmental livestock feed | ||
The need for more working capital for the dairy industry | ||
Inappropriate support for the financing of manufacturing enterprises | ||
Shrinkage of livestock and dairy industries | Surplus production of raw milk and dairy products due to the consumption decrease | |
The decreasing trend of raw milk production | ||
Decrease in milk production in the short-term due to the change in livestock diet | ||
Increasing livestock elimination due to the increasing livestock feed price | ||
Shrinkage of the livestock and dairy industries | ||
The inability of dairy factories to absorb raw milk | ||
Dairy consumption reduction due to the price surge | Reducing consumption or eliminating dairy products from the household diet | |
Decrease in per capita consumption | ||
The sharp increase in dairy products’ price | ||
Non-implementation of consumption support programs | ||
Tendency to export dairy products, especially powdered milk | Desultory development of powdered milk production | |
A huge increase in powdered milk production | ||
Disturbance of the market equilibrium due to the improper control of powdered milk production | ||
Increasing demand for export | ||
The focus of export on powdered milk sales | ||
Smuggling of powdered milk in banning the export | ||
Pricing policy | Neglecting guaranteed price | Using the target price policy instead of a guaranteed price |
Setting high prices to keep all production units | ||
Complications of determining the approved price | Setting the low price for raw milk production units | |
Late update on the approved price of raw milk | ||
Suppression of competition and production due to the pricing policy | Suppression of competition | |
Reducing the incentive to update and develop companies | ||
Unsustainability and closure of small and medium companies | ||
Contradiction of pricing policy with the aim of consumer protection | Reduction or non-production of dairy products subject to pricing | |
Reducing the supply of dairy products subject to pricing in stores | ||
An increase in the fixed price of dairy to the consumer due to the pricing policy | ||
Reduction in per capita dairy consumption | ||
Lack of programs to promote dairy consumption | ||
Reducing quality, infringement, and fraud to reduce production cost and fixed price | ||
Ignoring the issue of quality by the government in pricing policy | ||
Stopping dairy consumption support programs | Discontinuation of school milk program | Eliminating school milk due to the government’s budget deficit |
The discontinuation of the school milk program due to high costs and lack of sufficient credit | ||
Cut off household subsidized milk | Discontinuation of household milk subsidy after the implementation of the targeted subsidy policy |
Theme | Open Code |
---|---|
Economic Instability in the Country | Limitations and instability in accessing financial resources due to sanctions |
Government’s macroeconomic policies | |
Unstable macroeconomic status | |
Continuous high inflation | |
Distorted interaction between industry, universities, and the people | Interrupted interaction between consumers and the dairy industry |
Universities’ inability to establish proper interaction with industry and people | |
Mistrust between different stakeholders and/or low social capital | Mistrust between different levels and actors in society |
Consumers’ distrust of the dairy industry | |
Doubts about the authenticity of functional dairy products | |
Inadequate promotion of dairy consumption | Low awareness about the affordability of dairy products according to their nutritional value among people and officials |
Low awareness regarding lactose intolerance | |
Non-promotion of dairy consumption by the Ministry of Health | |
The semi-arid climate of the country | Limited agricultural soil |
Limited water resources | |
Low water efficiency | |
Drought | |
Deficit of rain | |
Environmental consequences of livestock industry development | Destruction of water and soil with the development of industrial livestock farms |
Increased production of greenhouse gases with the growth of industrial livestock farming |
Theme | Sub-Theme | Open Code |
---|---|---|
Lack of transparency | Multiplicity and obscurity of laws and structures | Multiple, not clear rules in determining structures and responsibilities |
Absence of a specific policy maker in the field of milk and dairy products | ||
The plurality of policy makers and decision makers | ||
Compartmentalization of intersectoral activities | ||
Lack of comprehensive and accurate data | Ambiguity in the amount of milk production in the country | |
Being unable to verify the reported amounts of milk produced in the country | ||
Lack of land use planning | Lack of land use planning | |
Poor accountability | Not accepting responsibility for decisions by managers | |
Using sanctions as a cover for mismanagement | ||
Ignorance of adopted policies’ outcomes | The macro policies of the country and the government’s decisions are not aligned with the private sector’s interests | |
Adopting policies that create economic challenges in production and consumption | ||
Bias in governmental decision making for the private sector | Government activities as an economic enterprise | |
Government dominance in decision making | Government interference in the private-sector activities | |
Ostensible participation of trade unions in governmental decision making | ||
Governmental decision making in the milk and dairy sector | ||
Pressures of interest groups on decision making by the government | Undue influence, pressure, and interference of unrelated institutions in decision making | |
Making decisions based on the wishes of the beneficiaries of more power | ||
Sabotage by various groups in case of not providing their financial benefits | ||
Non-specialist officials | Appointing policy makers/managers based on criteria other than expertise | |
The unfamiliarity of officials with specialized topics in their field of work | ||
Exclusion of experienced people with management change | ||
Lack of expert body in any field | ||
Ignorance of decision makers about the importance of the issues and their effects | ||
Poor policy-making process | Weakness in holistic, realistic, and evidence-based policy making | Inadequate use of evidence in policy making |
Oversimplification of policy making | ||
Making sectorial and non-comprehensive policies | ||
Absence of compiled programs or policies or no implementation of them in the milk and dairy production and consumption sectors | ||
Lack of long-term policy making | ||
Suspension of programs in management change | ||
Short-term solutions to the problem instead of solving the roots | ||
Absence of compiled programs or policies or no implementation of them | ||
The incongruity of expectations from the agricultural sector with existing realities and potentials | ||
Targeting of production without considering the possibility and ability of its implementation | ||
Weakness in implementing policies | Lack of complete and accurate implementation of policies | |
Neglecting the right time and situation for the implementation of policies | ||
Conducting actions to show off | ||
Not informing stakeholders of existing decisions and plans | ||
Lack of policy evaluation and improvement system | Not evaluating people’s activities and programs | |
Negligence of the government to make changes in the adopted policies if necessary |
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© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Roustaee, R.; Rafiee, H.; Ghodsi, D.; Omidvar, N.; Hosseini, H.; Toorang, F.; Eini-Zinab, H. Challenges and Obstacles to Dairy Consumption in Iran from Stakeholders’ Perspectives Using a Food System Approach. Sustainability 2023, 15, 12568. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151612568
Roustaee R, Rafiee H, Ghodsi D, Omidvar N, Hosseini H, Toorang F, Eini-Zinab H. Challenges and Obstacles to Dairy Consumption in Iran from Stakeholders’ Perspectives Using a Food System Approach. Sustainability. 2023; 15(16):12568. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151612568
Chicago/Turabian StyleRoustaee, Roshanak, Hamed Rafiee, Delaram Ghodsi, Nasrin Omidvar, Hedayat Hosseini, Fatemeh Toorang, and Hassan Eini-Zinab. 2023. "Challenges and Obstacles to Dairy Consumption in Iran from Stakeholders’ Perspectives Using a Food System Approach" Sustainability 15, no. 16: 12568. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151612568