Pelwatte Sugar invests Rs 1.8b:
Milk plant in Pelwatte
Benefits 20,000 farmer families:
Ramani Kangaraarachchi
One of the largest milk processing plants in Sri Lanka which is an
investment of Rs 1.8 billion will be opened in Pelwatte next month.
Pelwatte Sugar Company and Maubima Lanka Foundation Chairman Ariyaseela
Wickramanayake told Daily News Business the new factory will collect
150,000 litres of milk per day benefiting 20,000 farmer families in the
country.
Ariyaseela Wickramanayake |
The factory will produce cheese, butter, yoghurt, and flavoured milk
including milk powder.
Apart from that a number of scientists, engineers, veterinary
surgeons, distributors and technicians will get employment
opportunities,’ he said.
“Sri Lanka has spent US$ 300 million to import milk powder last year
which is similar to the amount that the country spends for the
Hambantota Port within five years. Therefore it is high time that Sri
Lanka stops importing milk powder and utilized full potential of its
resources to produce milk powder in the country,” Wickramanayake said.
Referring to recent media reports on increasing prices of imported milk
powder he said that milk powder producing countries have no right to
threaten Sri Lanka’s food security by saying no milk powder will be
given to Sri Lanka unless the prices are increased.
There are 1.5 million cows in Sri Lanka but only 250,000 cows are
milked and if the country can get milk from 350,000 cows 70 percent of
milk requirement will be fulfilled, he said.
Dairy industry |
* Price
increase a blessing in disguise.
* Twenty thousand farmer
families benefited.
* Large number of employment
opportunities.
* 1.5 million cows in Sri Lanka.
|
Wickramanayake said that Sri Lanka has not utilized its unemployed
youth to work in dairy farms but it is a lucrative job in milk producing
countries and now those countries want to pay even higher salaries to
their youth by increasing prices.
Therefore this is the time that Sri Lanka should motivate its youth
to get employment in the dairy business and the Government must provide
necessary infrastructure to implement this project and avoid various
political parties taking advantage at a time of forthcoming election.
He urged the authorities not to increase the prices of milk powder at
this point but to invest that money to upgrade the local industry
protecting local farmers while giving employment to youth.
Wickramanayake said it is not difficult to meet country’s milk
requirement through Government run Highland factory and the Pelwatte
factory together by utilizing the maximum capacity.
It will be much better than importing palm oil mixed and adulterated
milk powder to our nation, he said. |