Market Availability and Household Consumption of Pasteurized Milk: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis in Sri Lanka
Market Availability and Household Consumption of Pasteurized Milk: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis in Sri Lanka

Summary/Abstract: This paper examines the impact of daily availability of pasteurized milk on household consumption in Sri Lanka. Data were collected from 230 randomly selected households in the Jaffna and Nallur Divisional Secretariat divisions. To address potential selection bias in market availability, the analysis employs nearest-neighbour propensity score matching (PSM) to estimate the Average Treatment Effect (ATE) and the Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATET). The results show that daily availability of non-flavoured pasteurized milk increases household consumption by approximately 238 ml per week for the overall population and by 214 ml per week among households with access to daily supply. These findings indicate that limited market availability represents a significant constraint on pasteurized milk consumption in Sri Lanka, contributing to the continued reliance on milk powder. The results highlight importance of improving distribution systems and retail availability to promote the consumption of nutritious fresh milk and strengthen the domestic dairy sector.

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