Control on Milk Powder Import to Promote Local Dairy Farming

Rural Economic Affairs Minister P. Harrison said, the government considers controlling the importation of milk powder and banning the importation of substandard milk powder from abroad in order to encourage the local dairy farmers and promote the dairy farming in Sri Lanka.

By issuing a press release, he stated that several incidents were being reported that the local dairy farmers had experienced losses owing to the importation of milk powder from abroad.

“We in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Standards Institution are going to introduce a labelling system on the dairy products including yogurt, ice cream so that the consumer could distinguish local dairy products from substandard products. We are going to make it compulsory soon. It should be labelled on the products whether the products are
manufactured using local dairy or imported milk powder,” Harrison said.

He further said that the government would promote the products made out of fresh milk to discourage consumption of milk powder which are being imported.