Many people prefer it to cow's milk and are willing to pay more for it. In Egypt, for example, the severe mortality rate among buffalo calves is due in part to the sale of buffalo milk, which is in high demand, thus depriving calves of proper nourishment. This also occurs in India, where in the Bombay area alone an estimated 10,000 newborn calves starve to death each year through lack of milk. Composition Buffalo milk contains less water, more total solids, more fat, slightly more lactose, and more protein than cow's milk. Because of it's high butterfat content, buffalo milk has considerably higher energy value than cow's milk.
Phospholipids are lower but cholesterol and saturated fatty acids are higher in buffalo milk.
Studies have shown that the digestibility is not adversely affected by this. Normally the protein in buffalo's milk contains more casein and slightly more albumin and globulin than cow's milk. Several researchers have claimed that the biological value of buffalo milk protein is higher than that of cow's milk, but this has not been proved conclusively. The mineral content of buffalo milk is nearly the same as that of cow's milk except for phosphorus, which occurs in roughly twice the amount in buffalo milk. Buffalo milk tends to be lower in salt.