India expresses keenness to support Sri Lankan dairy sector.
Daily FT: India has expressed its keenness to extend support to uplift Sri Lanka’s dairy sector.
This was conveyed when Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay called on President Ranil Wickremesinghe along with a delegation from India’s flagship dairy brand Amul. The discussions focussed on raising national milk production and providing necessary technical support to the production of liquid milk in Sri Lanka together with the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) of India and Amul Milk Company.
The objective is to make Sri Lanka self-sufficient in milk and milk products in the long term with short and medium-term goals to double local milk production, a statement from the President’s Media Office said.
The President appointed a committee consisting of representatives of the public and private sectors to work with the multidisciplinary team of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) of India to prepare a short, medium, and long-term plan for the development of the dairy sector in the country. This endeavour is aimed at preventing the decline in milk production and dependence on imported milk in Sri Lanka. The discussion was held between the members of the committee and representatives of the NDDB.
Indian High Commission Economic and Commercial Affairs First Secretary Dr. Rakesh Pandey, representatives of National Dairy Development Board of India and Amul Milk Company and a group of public and private sector representatives appointed by the President also attended the discussions.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s target of becoming self-sufficient in dairy milk has opened up a host of new business/investment opportunities in the country’s dairy industry. Local authorities have introduced many incentive schemes to support dairy businesses while also attracting new businesses/investors to the industry. The ongoing economic crisis faced by Sri Lanka has resulted in the slashing of milk powder imports to the country. This, has resulted in a growing demand for dairy milk in the country. Therefore, Sri Lanka’s dairy industry presents many lucrative business/investment opportunities. It is this reason that India’s leading dairy milk producer, Amul, has expressed interest in doing business in Sri Lanka. Foreign businesses/investors could explore the growing opportunities in Sri Lanka’s dairy industry with the guaranteed assurance of return on investment (ROI). They could also look at forming partnerships or joint ventures with local dairy businesses in order to develop and expand operations.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/13012023/X_3 |