Pelwatte Dairy Industries, Sri Lanka’s leading local dairy producer, is on a renewed mission to meet the domestic milk demand and uplift the socio-economic status of local dairy farmers.
This comes in support of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s recent pledge to empower the local dairy industry and increase the domestic liquid milk production in the next decade. The government’s National Policy Framework ‘Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour’ is set to include short-term and long-term plans in collaboration with the public and private sectors, and small-scale farmers to meet the local demand for liquid milk.
In this regard, Pelwatte Dairy is determined to support the dairy farming sector by ensuring that all small-scale farmers and private farms will have a guaranteed buyer in them, and that their products will always be competitively priced so as to uplift them.
“The most significant components of our value chain are the farmers. It is for this very reason that we, at Pelwatte Dairy Industries, remain heavily invested in working with and uplifting dairy farmers with an intense focus of raising the socio-economic standards of these poor communities.
The initiatives recently discussed by the President to increase the production of milk – including improvements in grass cultivation, dairy cow breeding and research institute services – are cordially and readily welcomed by us. It’s highly rewarding to see several initiatives being directed towards the empowerment of the dairy farming sector and the communities involved. And Pelwatte is extremely proud to be part of that narrative and journey,” states Managing Director of Pelwatte Dairy Industries Akmal Wickramanayake.
On the customer front, Pelwatte Dairy has always strived to deliver the highest quality products which adhere to globally acceptable standards. With Quality, Taste and Health being the three guiding pillars of the company, freshness has always been a key component of its offerings. And this is ensured through its policy of delivering all products straight from the farm to retail chains within a time span of 48 hours.
“As a strong advocate of supporting local and small businesses, our goal is to bring about a shift in the perception of Sri Lankan consumers, shining light on the reality of the local dairy sector which is that local dairy companies such as ours produce superior value-added products that are at par with or even better than the international brands that have been imported to the market over the past several years,” states Wickramanayake.
Moreover, the need to support local industries becomes all the more imperative in the post pandemic world. Commenting on the same, Wickramanayake added: “COVID-19 was a real eye opener for Sri Lankan consumers, shedding light on unfeasible buying patterns, flashy lifestyles and exuberant consumerism. Therefore, minimising imports and empowering local industries to sustain the nation is definitely the way forward in this day and age.”
Pelwatte Dairy remains highly committed to the sustainable growth of the dairy industry in Sri Lanka and seeks to steer this growth by empowering the farmers and their communities. Its ultimate goal since inception has been to make the country self-sufficient in milk production. And following the recent meeting with the President, the company is exceedingly eager to work hand in hand with the government and other stakeholders in the realisation of this national goal.
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