Tropical Orchard Products Company Limited (TOPCO), a subsidiary of Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL), will be selling pasteurised fresh cow milk within another two years’ time as the company seeks to expand its product line.
DDL’s top management, including its Chairman Komal Samaroo and Managing Director Ramesh Persaud, told the media on Saturday that technical and financial feasibility studies are yet to be completed and the company has not settled on a plot of land suitable for the rearing of the cows, 500 of which will be imported at the initial stage.
The company said despite this, it has been engaged in wide-ranging consultations in recent months and it is still set on reaching timelines set out in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the LR Group out of Israel.
DDL management was joined by Rami Ofer from LR Group in providing the update to the media at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre where the Agri -Investment Expo is currently ongoing.
While there is no final decision on where the 600 acres of land will be for grazing and rearing of the cows, the company is eyeing a plot of land at Moblissa along the Soesdyke/Linden Highway.
DDL is currently in talks with utility companies, including the Guyana Power and Light and the Guyana Water Incorporated, to find the best options possible.
The state-of-the-art milk plant will be positioned at DDL’s Diamond, East Bank Demerara facility. The farm would be designed to supply the milk plant with fresh cow milk for pasteurisation and packaging.
Pasteurisation is the process of heating raw milk to remove any pathogens (bacteria or viruses that can cause diseases) from it.
According to Samaroo, the facility which was designed to package juice, has been updated to reduce the importation of milk currently as production will take place locally.
He said once the best possible location is identified and the studies are complete, DDL will move ahead with its international partner to bring the project to fruition. DDL said it is also keen to secure the best genetics in cows for this purpose.
TOPCO is known for its sale of fruit juices and drinks. Last year, the company launched its new one-litre juices and juice drinks. The company is currently testing the production and packaging capabilities ahead of the product’s commercial launch in another two years.
The dairy farm is seen as a step up from the reconstituted milk being produced by TOPCO. This is milk simply produced by adding water to the dried or concentrated form of drinking milk (that is, milk powder).
