Nestle collects record 5 m litres of milk

Nestlé Lanka celebrates its highest ever milk intake of over five million litres from 18,000 Sri Lankan dairy farmers in the month of September. Further, the company also expects to contribute over Rs 2.6 billion to the rural economy this year.

Alois Hofbauer, Managing Director of Nestlé Lanka PLC assisting R.M. Nalaka Bandara, dairy farmer from Kuliyapitiya and his family to pour the milestone litre of freshly acquired dairy milk at the Dambadeniya Nestlé Milk Chilling Centre.

Widely hailed across Sri Lanka as ‘the local multinational’, 2012 has seen the company accelerate its investments in the rural community, particularly in the dairy sector.

“We are most proud to celebrate a significant milestone in Nestlé Lanka history – procuring over five million litres of milk from 18,000 local dairy farmers. This is the highest ever yet! Developing and contributing to Sri Lanka’s rural economy has always been close to Nestlé’s heart, because the overall wellbeing of our farmers and the rural communities is intrinsic for the long term success of our business,” said Alois Hofbauer, Managing Director of Nestlé Lanka PLC.

Nestlé has been a pioneering force in uplifting livelihoods across rural communities in Sri Lanka by creating sustainable, mutually beneficial business relationships with its farmers and suppliers.

R.M. Nalaka Bandara, a dairy farmer in Kuliyapitiya speaking of his partnership with Nestlé said, “I was then able to increase my supply of milk up to 35 – 40 litres per day with the purchase of more cows. With the support of the company, my goal is to increase my supply of fresh milk up to 100 litres by the end of 2015 and further strengthen my dairy farm.”

Yet another Nestlé dairy farmer Samararathna also shares his experience, “I was able to gain the training and resources I needed to further expand my operations. Frequent visits from Nestlé’s Agri-services team helped strengthen my technical knowledge while I also received financial assistance via Nestlé’s microfinance plan, enabling me to establish my dairy farm.

As a result, I’m now proud to say that I’m able to supply up to 100 litres of fresh milk per day!”

Nestlé has been engaged with the Sri Lankan dairy sector since the early 1980’s, assisting local dairy farmers to increase the quantity and quality of their yield.