Why Camel Milk Is So Expensive And Why So Many Are Drinking It Anyway

Although we can definitely choose from a lot more kinds of milk and its alternatives than our grandparents had growing up, cows remain a dominant enough source for our milk that we'll assume that's what people mean when they say "milk" on its own.

However, that's not necessarily true everywhere in the world and it never really was. Because while you might have heard of some parts of the world where goat's milk is a more common choice, it's also true that camel milk is considered an important staple in parts of Africa and the Middle East.

However, there's one key reason why international markets are starting to open for camel milk and several more as to why the steep prices customers pay for the stuff aren't likely to go down.

You may not be likely to see a camel farm near you, but there are some busy ones operating in Kenya, Somalia, Dubai, and Australia.

According to Business Insider, Somalia and Kenya produce 64% of the world's camel milk, while the Camelicious firm in Dubai pumps out over 1 million gallons of it per year.

Meanwhile, the BBC reported that Australia has made its own strides in the camel milk trade over the last decade with the nation putting out 47,550 gallons a year.

It's worth noting that about 1.2 million wild camels exist in Australia.

And although about 200 times more cow's milk is produced around the world in a year than camel's milk, that's not to say the latter isn't gaining in popularity.

The BBC reported that the Australian camel farms are seeing heavy exports of the stuff to New Zealand, Hong Kong, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, and especially Singapore.

Part of this is due to the supposed health benefits that camel's milk brings as it's richer in vitamin C, vitamin B, iron, calcium, magnesium and potassium than cow's milk is.

According to Business Insider, online celebrity endorsements are also driving sales and for Mutasher Al Badry of Camelicious, that rise in demand is becoming a problem.

As he put it, "The demand for camel milk increasing day by day, and we are facing now a challenge, which to meet the demand because the supply is less than the demand."

But that gap between supply and demand is only one reason why you're likely to pay $30 for a liter of camel milk and why that's not likely to change.

As Al Badry explained, it's much harder to get milk from camels than cows because they largely need to be close to their young to feel relaxed enough to produce. These means securing expensive feed from multiple animals just to produce almost two gallons of milk from one camel per day.

Although it is possible to train camels to do this without their calves nearby, that can take anywhere between two days and multiple weeks. And considering that Camelicious needs about 1,300 camels to meet its current production levels, that time and money adds up incredibly quickly.

Not only that but even after all that training is complete, your average camel is not going to produce anywhere near as much milk as your average cow.

Reddit | matteocrayo, GhaGnome

According to Al Badry, that two gallon figure I mentioned earlier is actually on the high end of a camel's daily production. In contrast, it's not unusual for a cow to produce about 13 gallons of milk a day.

So unless a lot more camel farms spring up in the coming years, demand for camel milk is probably going to continue to outpace the supply and the milk will likely remain as expensive as ever.

h/t: Business Insider, BBC

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