Pelwatte Dairy to begin work on second farm

by Lalin Fernandopulle

Pelwatte Dairy Industries will commence work on its second farm in Trincomalee this year with an investment of around US $ 50 million, Pelwatte Dairy Industries, Chairman Ariyaseela Wickramanayake said.

He said details regarding the land are being finalised. The equipment will be procured from Denmark and the initial investment will be increased to US $100 million.The extent of the farm will be around 100 acres and the production of milk will be double the quantity produced at Pelwatte. Pelwatte Dairy produces around 120,000 litres a day and around 10-12 tonnes of milk powder which is around 20 percent of annual requirement.

Wickramanayake said that the new factory will collect milk from local farmers who will be provided technical assistance. We hope to generate around 300 job opportunities similar to the number of jobs provided at Pelwatte.

“Last year due to Pelwatte's production of powdered milk, the import of milk powder was reduced by 40,000 tonnes, valued at around US$ 250 million. Sri Lanka imports around 85,000 metric tonnes of milk powder a year.

Our aim is to do away with milk powder imports completely by increasing local production”, Wickramanayake said. Wickremanayake said that though Sri Lanka has over 1.2 million milch cows, milk is collected only from around 250,000 cows.

There is immense potential for milk production that would save a large amount of foreign exchange.

He said that Sri Lanka is self sufficient in butter, maize and yoghurt and we can be self-sufficient in milk.

Pelwatte buys milk from around 25,000 families. The extent of the Pelwatte farm is 25,000 acres.

Wickramanayake said that the lack of support for local milk producers is a major hindrance to boost production that could help to completely halt milk powder imports.

He said that Sathosa outlets do not sell Pelwatte products and added that the trader's commission for milk powder which is Rs. 125 per kilogram is exorbitantly high. The trader's commission for a kilogram of rice is Re. 1 and Rs. 2 for a kilogram of sugar.

“There should be a level playing filed for all products and if the commission for milk powder could be slashed the price of a kilogram pack of Pelwatte milk powder could be reduced further,” Wickremanayake said.

Wickremanayake who is also the Chairman of Master Divers which is in the salvage, ship towing, harbour construction, bunkering and laying of telephone cables, said that company has helped save the drain of colossal amounts of foreign exchange by investing in dairy farms.