'Country could be made self sufficient in milk'

Sandasen Marasinghe

The country could be made self sufficient in milk within two years with the construction of the new factory and the expansion of the existing three factories which can prevent the annual outflow of around USD 400 million, as envisaged in the Mahinda Chintana Future vision, Milco (Pvt) Ltd chairman Sunil Wickramasinghe said.

He made this observation yesterday at a press conference at the Western Province Aesthetic Resort.

The chairman said that three Milco factories would be renovated by August and another new one will be constructed and all these projects will be completed withing two years increasing the processing capacity of Milco to 0.8 million litres daily from the current capacity of 0.2 million litres.

He added that the machinery worth 33 million Euros needed to expand these factories will be imported soon with the financial assistance of a Danish Company. Wickramasinghe stated this refuting allegations made by several media and said that these assistance are not taken arbitrarily but taken in accordance with a cabinet decision reached in 2008 and with the consent of the Treasury and other relevant authorities. Wickramasinghe said that the Milco Pvt Ltd could be made profitable when all these expansions were made. He added that the Milco is facing a difficult situation as the government increased the amount given to the dairy farmers from Rs. 28 to Rs. 50 gradually within two years per liter. He added that the Milco paid this increased amount without increasing the prices of the products.

The chairman added that the milk production in the country increased by 16 percent last year while the purchase of milk by Milco (Pvt) Ltd increased by 31 percent. He said 2,500 best quality milch cows were imported recently and another 4,500 will be imported by the Livestock and Rural Community Development Ministry while some more are to be imported by some other institutions.

Wickramasinghe also stated that the factory at Narahenpita will be moved to a location in Badalgama as those equipment are more than 50-years-old and the land is not belonging to the Milco.

Milco Vice Chairman Sanjaya Leelaratne, Animal Production and Health Department Director General Kumara de Silva were also were present.