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Australian exporter Wellard in second phase of US$30m Sri Lankan dairy project

02 Oct 2013

Sri Lanka’s Cabinet has approved the second phase of the Dairy Development Project, the Sri Lankan Government’s plan to make fresh milk more available to its people, with the involvement of Australia’s Wellard Rural Exports.

The Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) initiated the five-year project, estimated at US$30 million. The development project links Australia’s agricultural resources and expertise with the Sri Lankan Government’s desire to increase the nation’s fresh milk supply, reduce reliance on powdered milk imports and, ultimately, become a self-sufficient dairy producer.

Sri Lanka’s National Livestock Development Board (NLDB), which oversees the project, engaged Wellard to supply dairy cattle, infrastructure, equipment and management with a view to increasing the size of the national dairy herd and raising the daily average yield from four litres of milk per cow to a number nearer Australia’s 26 litres.

In phase one of the development project, Wellard supplied 2000 dairy cows to three farms in central Sri Lanka’s Bopaththalawa region.

Under phase two, Wellard will supply a further 2500 dairy cattle in an agreement worth US$21 million. Wellard will supply the cattle and infrastructure to a farm in Ridiyagama in southern Sri Lanka.

The Australian Government’s Export Finance Insurance Corporation (EFIC) has supported the project, arranging a long-term sovereign loan for the Sri Lankan Government to fund the dairy infrastructure project.