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by Uditha Kumarasinghe

An action plan to solve the problems faced by local dairy farmers and boost the dairy industry will be implemented by the Agriculture and Livestock Ministry soon, Minister S.B.Dissanayake told the Daily News.

One of the proposals in this action plan is to levy a tax on all imported milk powder except infant formulas as an incentive to the local industry. This proposal will be submitted to the Cabinet for approval soon, he said.

The Minister said the local dairy industry has totally declined today and a majority of farmers are rearing milch cows only to cater to their domestic needs.

The local production cost of milk is about Rs.16 per litre, but the purchase price offered to farmers is between Rs.13.50 and Rs.15 per litre. In this context, farmers find it difficult to exist, he said.

Minister Dissanayake said earlier the country produced 80 per cent of the total requirement of milk. Today, this has reduced to a mere 20 per cent of the demand.

He said:" Sri Lankans today have got addicted to imported milk powder in contrast to people in other countries. Therefore, a decision has been taken to impose a tax on imported milk powder, except infant formulas. Initiatives will be taken to further reduce the price of infant formula milk powder in future."

The income generated by this tax will be used to cater to the needs of dairy farmers and ensure them Rs.18 per litre of milk produced.

" The objective of the Ministry is to make the country self sufficient in milk within 10 years," he said.

The livestock sector of the country has also totally collapsed during the past few years. At present, the contribution made by the livestock sector to the national economy is minimal. The Ministry will shortly improve this situation, the Minister said.

A program will be prepared to make all dairy and livestock farms profitable ventures in the future, the Minister added.

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