Thursday 10 November 2016

Nestlé opens Rs500mn milk plant in Sri Lanka

ECONOMYNEXT – Nestlé Lanka said it has opened a milk plant in Sri Lanka’s Kurunegala area with an investment of Rs500 million that will expand its capacity to make popular dairy-based beverages.

The UHT or ultra-heat treatment plant will manufacture Ready-To-Drink (RTD) products like Milo, Nespray Nutri-Up, NescaféIce and Nestomalt, a statement said.

“The new UHT milk plant will positively impact the farmers we work with daily, strengthening our efforts to develop the local dairy industry,” said Shivani Hegde, managing director of Nestlé Lanka.

Nestlé, which has been operating in Sri Lanka for 110 years, focuses on manufacturing products locally, largely using local ingredients, and contributed Rs3.6 billion in 2015 to its dairy farmers as payment for fresh milk.

Central Bank Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy, who declared open the plant, said the local manufacture of milk products reduces imports.

“External debt is a real challenge the country faces today. Nestlé, however, has greatly benefited the country by helping Sri Lanka earn and save its foreign exchange reserves through the local manufacture of Nestlé’s strong brands,” he said.

Nestlé is also a fine example of a company that has fully integrated itself into the domestic economy through its many initiatives to empower the lives of 20,000 local dairy farmers, he added.

“Their new investment will further increase import substitution and exports in the country,” said Upul Jayasuriya, chairman of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka.

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