The conditions are expected to deteriorate in the drought affected states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa.

"There is no doubt that livestock deaths will rise because of the severe drought conditions," a senior Animal Husbandry Department official said. "But the good thing is that we are not expecting any disease outbreak because of the dry climate." Officials of the country's largest dairy co-operative said that the drought had hit milk production in the western state of Gujarat, which has a population of about 40 million.

"Our daily collection is already down by about 3 to 4 per cent as compared to the same period of last year because of the drought. It is likely to further go down," Kishore Jhala, group product manager of Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), said.

Milk collection at GCMMF - one of India's largest producers of butter, cheese and ice-cream, and which markets its Amul brand of products all over the country - is down to 42 million litres of milk a day. Officials said they expected the situation to deteriorate over the next two months because the monsoon is only expected to arrive in Gujarat at the end of June. "In the next two months, when the real impact of the drought will be felt, our collections are likely to go down by 9 to 10 per cent," said another GCMMF official.

Government officials are hoping for normal rains during the monsoon, which usually runs from June to September. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) gives its official forecast in the last week of June. Trade officials said a shortage of domestic oilseeds production this year had worsened the problem, as it had resulted in low meal production. "The livestock industry in Rajasthan and Gujarat is in the doldrums as far as the availability of animal feed is concerned," said BV Mehta, executive director of the Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA). "If this kind of situation prevails, the worst can be expected."