Cargills pumps Rs 3 bn on Kotmale dairy plant

Cargills has invested Rs. 3 billion over the last two years for the expansion of the Kotmale Milk products and also for the ‘Kotmale Integrated Dairy Plant’ which was opened yesterday.

Cargills (Ceylon) Deputy Chairman Ranjit Page said the company vision is to be the most trusted Sri Lankan dairy brand and the largest contributors to the national dairy industry.

“With the opening of this plant, Cargills salutes the efforts of Sri Lanka’s small holder dairy farmers,” he said.

“Sri Lanka continues to depend on imported milk powder to meet the dairy nutritional needs of our children. Steps taken by the government to encourage dairy farming must be complemented with processing and sourcing capacities and it is our role as the private sector to invest towards long term growth,” Page said.

Over the last 12 months, Cargills has collected 42 million litres of fresh milk from small farmers, generating a direct income of Rs. 2.8 bn for rural Sri Lanka and saving US$ 20 million in foreign exchange to the country in the last financial year.

Cargills entered the dairy industry in 2002 through the acquisition of an ice cream facility owned by a multi-national company. This plant that was shut-down at the time of acquisition was transformed to be Lanka’s largest multi-product dairy manufacturing plant in Gampaha.

Cargills Managing Director Imtiaz Wahid said Cargills has invested over Rs. 5 bn over the years in developing a range of dairy production lines while enhancing infrastructure and logistics support to increase the sourcing of fresh milk from small dairy farmers.”

“A Rs.3 bn dairy expansion project rolled out by us in the last two years has resulted in the development of a full range of dairy products, including UHT milk, yoghurt, drinking and stirred yoghurt, curd, cheese and a substantial increase in ice cream production facilities with the latest technology.”

“The investment also led to the establishment of unique processing and storage capabilities that will allow Cargills to overcome the seasonal fluctuations of milk production.”