Crisis-hit Fonterra milk controls 60 % of local market
View(s):New Zealand’s Anchor and Ratthi brands control 60 per cent of Sri Lanka’s milk powder consumption market which is estimated at 85,000 metric tonnes (MT) annually, industry sources said.
The balance comes from Lakspray (12 per cent) and Nespray (8 per cent) which is also sourced from New Zealand, the sources said.
Market share figures of the imported milk powder companies came as the Fonterra group, which owns Anchor and Ratthi brands, vigorously defended reports that its milk is contaminated.
With the crisis growing, the Government was also bringing new measures through proper quality certification of all imported milk products. The sources said the Maliban brand which sources milk powder from Australia has a 12 per cent share of the market. Of the local milk powder brands, Highland has 8 per cent market share while two other local brands – Milgro and Pelwatte sell very small quantities.
The sources said that Sri Lanka produces just 10,000 MT of the country’s total milk powder requirement.
Meanwhile officials said Sri Lanka would be launching a vigorous campaign aimed at creating awareness on safe milk consumption and also improving local milk production.
The bid to increase production comes at a time when the Finance Ministry has issued a directive to curb milk powder imports by increasing import taxes and encouraging local producers to expand production to save on foreign exchange.
Chairman of state-owned dairy firm Milco Pvt Ltd, Sunil Wickremasinghe told the Business Times that the Government will permit milk powder imports from countries which can provide this quality certificate other than New Zealand, till Sri Lanka reaches self-sufficiency in milk,
Sri Lanka needs to sharply increase local production of liquid milk of 390,000 litres a day to 1.6 million litres daily if milk imports were to stop, he said.
Sri Lanka represents Fonterra’s fourth largest global market and is critical to the company’s global business.
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