Dairy industry to benefit from Rs. 2.5 b concessional French loan

Thursday, 28 December 2017 00:15 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

To mark more than 45 years of development cooperation between Sri Lanka and France, the French Government has agreed to extend its assistance to Sri Lanka by providing a Rs. 2,514 million (€ 13.9 million) concessional loan for the Development of Six Mini-Dairies Project to be implemented.

The proposed project will include the complete modernisation of the pre-selected six mini-dairy cooperative societies and organisations by establishing state-of-the-art equipment chains to produce pasteurised and sterilised milk at a capacity of 4,500 litres per day.

The high-quality equipment will allow stable, homogenised and high-quality products with computerised monitoring. In addition, in order to improve the breeding process and carry out a proper market survey on the dairy sector of Sri Lanka, technical assistance will be extended to dairy farmers by a French non-profitable entity. This initiative is also expected to support the Government’s ambitious target to achieve self-sufficiency in dairy production by 2020 and contribute to closing the gap between demand for dairy and local supply.

Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and Mass Media Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga signed the relevant Protocol Agreement on behalf of the Sri Lankan Government and Chargé D’affaires of the Embassy of France in Sri Lanka, Isabelle Miscot, signed the relevant agreement on behalf of the French Government yesterday.

Economic Counsellor of the Embassy of France in Sri Lanka, Hervé Sarnelli, also participated in this event held at the Ministry of Finance and Mass Media.