CAMEL’S milk and byproducts, such as camel cheese, could be heading for the shelves of upmarket retailers, thanks to the United Nations.

The milk, which has three times more vitamin C than cow’s milk and up to ten times the iron, is already widely drunk in the Arab world.

Now the UN’s food arm, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), wants producers in countries from Mauritania to Kazakhstan to start selling it to the West. The market could be worth $10 billion (£5.6 billion) globally, the FAO says.

Camel’s milk, which is slightly saltier than cow’s milk and lower in fat, can be drunk naturally or fermented and is well suited to cheese production. It is rich in vitamin B and manganese, has a long shelf-life and could retail for up to 90p a litre.

“Provided it was of good quality and made to a high standard, we’d definitely consider stocking it,” said Noel O’Brien, a buyer at Harvey Nichols. “We’re always looking for products with points of difference.”

Harrods would also be interested, “provided it was of a quality we could associate ourselves with”, a spokesman said.

A camel typically produces about five litres of milk a day, but that could easily be doubled with relatively minor improvements to food and water supply, according to the FAO.

“Improvements are needed right along the chain, but we consider that the $10 billion estimate is conservative,” Anthony Bennett, dairy and meat expert at the FAO, said. “There are 200 million potential customers in the Arab world and tens of millions more in Europe, the Americas and Africa.”

Nancy Abederrahmane is a British-born producer based in Nouakchott, the Mauritanian capital, whose company collects 10,000 litres of camel milk a day for the city’s hotels. “I’ve had interest from Harrods, Fortnum & Mason,” she said. “If we can get the acceptable certification system, why shouldn’t we be able to export?”

DESERT MILK

• Because of the proteins in camel’s milk, a special enzyme has to be added to make it harden during the cheese-making process. However, the cheese is still soft
  
  
• She-camels, as female camels are known, will feed only their own calves, which they recognise by their distinctive smell
  
  
• Camels are not farmed but tended by semi-nomadic herdsmen in herds numbering up to 100. The herds are often hundreds of miles apart
  
  
• Camel’s milk is being studied for a possible role in reducing the effects of diabetes and heart disease
  
  
• There are an estimated 20 million camels worldwide, with Somalia home to the largest herd

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