Nestlé Lanka invests Rs500Mn in Sri Lanka’s dairy industry

Nov 08, 2016 (LBO) - Nestlé Lanka, a unit of the Swiss-based food group, announced the opening of a new UHT milk plant in their factory in Kurunegala.

The company has made an investment of 500 million rupees in the island's dairy industry with the new production facility.



Through this new investment on a UHT milk plant, Nestlé plans to expand the company’s production capacity for its popular dairy based beverages, providing local consumers with more milk based products that cater to local tastes and nutritional needs. The new plant will manufacture RTD (Ready-To-Drink) products like Milo, Nespray Nutri-Up, NescaféIce and Nestomalt.

“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," Indrajit Coomaraswamy, governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and guest of honour at the plant inauguration said. "Nestlé is also 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.

" Head of the islands investment promotion office, the Board of Investment, Upul Jayasuriya said that the new investment will further increase import substitution and exports in the country. Nestlé, Sri Lanka’s largest private sector collector of fresh milk, contributed 3.



6 billion rupees in 2015 to its dairy farmers as payment for fresh milk, to manufacture its products like Nespray, Milo and Milkmaid.



“The new UHT milk plant we opened will positively impact the farmers we work with daily, strengthening our efforts to develop the local dairy industry, contribute to its prosperity, and ultimately, enhance the quality of life of the people of Sri Lanka,” said Shivani Hegde, managing director for Nestlé.