No toxic material in MILCO products

by P. Krishnaswamy

In the backdrop of recent allegations that toxic material was found in some brands of imported milk powder, the nation’s primary milk producing company, MILCO (Pvt) Ltd, confirmed that there is no toxic material in their milk powder or other dairy products. MILCO Chairman Sunil Wickramasinghe told the Sunday Observer that their products are tested at regular intervals and no traces of any chemicals were found in them.

Wickramasinghe projected that Sri Lanka will produce 70 percent of its total milk requirements by 2016. Total self-sufficiency in milk will be achieved a few years later, saving a staggering US$ 400 million per year to the national coffers which could be used to improve the dairy farming sector, he said.

An average of 85,000 tonnes of milk products are imported every year, costing about Rs.30 billion, he said. The country’s present milk production has exceeded 200,000 litres per day which will be systematically increased to achieve self-sufficiency, he said.

The import of hybrid cattle from Australia and other countries, expanding the dairy farming network throughout the country including in the North and the East and introducing new breeding methods will be some of the measures to increase milk production, he said.

Last year’s import of 84,000 tonnes of milk products cost the national coffers Rs.30 billion, the MILCO Chairman said, adding that last year’s milk production recorded a 31 percent increase over the previous year.