SriLanka looks to New Zealand for help in developing dairy sector

Sri Lanka's Minister of Livestock Development is hoping to secure New Zealand's help in developing the country's dairy sector.

Providing 15,000 dairy cows and bull semen to breed herds would boost Sri Lanka's milk production, but the country would have to make payments over time as it lacks money to pay right now, said RCMB Rathnayaka.

Sri Lanka's government wants to boost self-sufficiency in milk production from the current 20 percent to 50 percent over the next five years.

Fonterra Brands Lanka is the country's third-largest fresh milk collector, and has started a campaign to boost production, which included giving farmers access to finance and genetics of Australian bulls suitable for producing cows in a hot climate.