About 11 billion cost of formula and breast milk substitutes,Thailand

Can you believe, about 11 billion ฿ was spend on formula or breastmilk substitue while the doctor say BREASTMILK IS BEST for our baby.

Spurned milk sparks outcry:Doctors say the breast is best for infants but marketing pushes unhealthy choices

However, in Thailand, exclusive breastfeeding during a child's first six months is still as low as 5% among the 800,000 newborn babies each year.

A recent report showed that more than 400,000 newborns are given breast milk substitutes. Such high consumption is driven by the highly competitive market and big public relations campaigns.

Milk formula commercials, complimentary samples and gift distribution can be seen in drug stores, hospitals, clinics and department stores.

The amount of formula and breast milk substitutes in the country costs about 11 billion baht a year and market growth is 2 to 5%, according to the Department of Internal Trade.

"Promotion of breast milk substitutes undermines breastfeeding," said David Clark, nutritional specialist at the United Nations Children's Fund, during a recent Unicef meeting in Manila on infant and young child feeding in emergencies.

Global sales of baby food are projected to grow by 37% from US$11.5 billion (349 billion baht) to US$42.7 billion by 2013. Almost two-thirds of this growth will come from the Asia-Pacific, particularly China and Indonesia.

Read this from Bangkok Post Oct.2nd,2010

 here http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/economics/199274/spurned-milk-sparks-outcry