The United Nations says the Asia Pacific is the world's largest milk producing region, and has played a key role in boosting child nutrition across the region.
The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), in a report released this week, says global production is forecast to rise by 120 million tonnes over the next decade, largely in Asia.
FAO assistant director-general Kundhavi Kadiresan, said school milk schemes, including in Bangladesh, had boosted children's nutrition.
"This shows the important role dairy has in supporting the overall health and wellbeing of children," Ms Kadiresan said.
Thailand's long-running national school milk program has been used in Bangladesh and Myanmar. China, India, Japan and Vietnam have also undertaken similar programs.
The FAO says the Asia Pacific has overtaken Europe as the world's largest milk producing region.
Between 1980 and 2012 milk production in the Asia Pacific region grew at almost 4.5 per cent a year versus a global average of 1.5 per cent.
By 2012, milk production in the Asia-Pacific region reached 280 million tonnes - 37 per cent of global production - more than a third of all milk produced in the world.
Ms Kadiresan over the next decade the FAO is forecasting the global production of milk to increase by more than 120 million tonnes, with two-thirds of the rise coming from the Asia-Pacific.
India is the region's largest producer of the milk producing some 135 billion litres, with demand growing at 7.0 per cent a year, but with domestic production rising by just 4.0 per cent India is forecast to become a net importer by 2020.
Australia's dairy industry hopes India's rising milk demand will spur pressure for greater access to the South Asia market.
Australian dairy exporters are pushing the Australian government for greater access to the India market.
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