Buffalo herds are an important part of the agricultural economy but, unfortunately, this production chain is still not valued as such in some countries, presenting yields lower than expected. This review of the literature aims at discussing the importance of buffalo herds for the milk production in several countries and the need for increasing the production yields of this species. Buffaloes are even more important for the economies of developing countries, where the economic activity is based

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... rimarily on agriculture as in some Asian countries. Although all buffalo parts can be commercially explored, buffalo milk derivatives are the most profitable. Therefore, maximizing the yields of both meat and milk is highly desirable.