Kotmale, SL’s largest private sector collector of fresh milk

Kotmale has become one of Sri Lanka’s national dairy brands contributing to the nourishment of the country and strengthening the local dairy farming community.

A fully owned subsidiary of leading food company Cargills (Ceylon) PLC, Kotmale is a 100 percent Sri Lankan company and by sourcing fresh milk from over 17,000 local dairy farmers, Kotmale generated over Rs. 5.2 billion of direct income for the Sri Lankan dairy farming community in 2020.

“Today, Kotmale has established itself as Sri Lanka’s largest private sector collector of fresh milk, collecting 180,000 litres on a daily basis,” the company said in a media release.

It said that Sri Lanka imports about 60 percent of its milk requirement which amounts to about US$320 million of foreign exchange leaving the country every year.

Kotmale said Sri Lanka’s milking cow population has fallen quite drastically in recent times. From 596,000 in 2015 to 444,000 in 2019, the milking cow population has dropped 25 percent within a span of four years. “This is an alarming statistic that needs immediate addressing from all stakeholders invo l ve d . Secondly, Sri Lanka’s milk production per cow remains low at around 3 litres per day, whereas the average global yield is around 7 litres per day and the yield in India is 8 litres per day. Low yield and low profitability have forced many farmers away from dairy farming which has further weakened local milk production,” the statement added.