Sri Lankan government to import 2,500 dairy cows from Australia to develop local dairy industry
Sri Lanka’s Co-Cabinet Spokesperson, Minister Ramesh Pathirana has reportedly said the Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal to import 2,500 dairy cattle from Australia.
Pathirana has said that the decision was reached to import the cows in order to meet the demand for fresh milk in the country.
He has explained that Sri Lanka produces 1.2 million liters of milk a day while the demand is for 3.5 million liters a day.
According to Pathirana, Sri Lanka is looking at cutting down on milk powder imports and boosting the local milk production.
In 2017 the then government set a target to achieve self-sufficiency in dairy products by 2020 and to save Rs. 40 billion it spends annually on importing powdered milk.
Accordingly, around 5,000 milch cows were imported in 2017 for about US$ 3,031 each or a total of US$ 2,317 million.
OSL take:
Sri Lankan authorities are committed to developing the country’s dairy industry. This has resulted in the expansion of business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s dairy industry. Even the decision to import dairy cows is a business opportunity for foreign businesses engaged in the dairy business.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20200608/Z_7 |