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by Uditha Kumarasinghe

The MILCO (Private) Limited which recorded a Rs.48 million loss in 1999 has earned a Rs.32 million net profit during the financial year commencing from April 1, 2001 to March 31 this year, MILCO Chairman Brigadier R.P.Liyanage told the 'Daily News'.

He said with the steady progress achieved by the company, the Secretariat for Mix Credits of the Danish Foreign Affairs Ministry of Denmark Government has pledged to provide Rs.3000 million to purchase modern equipment to increase the production capacity of MILCO.

Three Danish dairy specialists have arrived in Sri Lanka to conduct the feasibility study and submit a report on this project in line with the 100 day program of the government, he said.

Mr. Liyanage said MILCO is the largest milk products manufacturer in the country which makes products under the brand name of Highland. MILCO has three milk plants in Colombo, Ambewela and Digana with a total of 1,200 employees.

He said the company makes 65,000 to 70,000 yoghurts and 60,000 bottles of sterilised milk daily. In addition, 36,000 packets of pasteurised milk, 5000 litres of ice cream, 2000 Kgs of butter and 25,000 to 30,000 packets of 400g milk powder are also manufactured by the company daily.

At present, MILCO purchases the highest amount - 150,000 litres of milk from farmers daily while 72 milk chilling centres are operated countrywide for this purpose. Nearly 75,000 farmer families have become the active members and dependent on MILCO.

"In 1997, MILCO was changed into Kiriya Milk Industries of Lanka (Pvt) Limited with the N.D.D.B. India corporation. After the Indian company left Sri Lanka in April 2000, it was managed as a Government institution under the Ministry of Trade. In July 2000, the name of Kiriya was changed into MILCO (Pvt)Ltd and the emblem too was changed."

He said MILCO (Pvt) Ltd now functions and operates as a fully-government owned company under the purview of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. Under the 100 day program, seven new Highland products have been launched by the company including new varieties of yoghurt and a Kiri Pani (curd and treacle) product, he said.

The objective of MILCO is to offer a service to the people rather than to other private companies and provide a fair price to the milk produced by farmers. In future, initiatives will be taken to increase the price offered to dairy farmers for their milk, he added.

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Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
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