Minerals in sheep milk

Although sheep milk production is quite small compared to cow and buffalo milk, there is considerable interest worldwide, as well as in New Zealand, for expansion of sheep dairy. While there was a 20% increase in sheep milk production over the period 2000-13 (from 8 to 10 million tons), the parallel increase in milk from other species has meant that the sheep milk contribution to the total world milk production has remained constant at 1.4% of the total world milk production within that period. The main sheep milk-producing countries are China, Turkey, Greece, and Italy, but significant amounts are also produced by France, Spain, and Russia. Significant numbers of sheep are available in Iran, India, Sudan, Romania, Syria, Algeria, Iraq, Egypt, Palestine, and Bulgaria. Exact numbers are difficult to obtain as large numbers of sheep are found in nomadic and transhumance pastoral activities. In these countries, fresh milk is used for sustenance, unlike in Western countries where sheep milk is used for specialty dairy products such as cheese. The majority of sheep milk (about 66%) is produced in the Mediterranean region.