DDC to set up new plant in Valley

KATHMANDU, MAR 12 -

In a bid to cater to the ever increasing demand for dairy products, the Dairy Development Corporation (DDC) has started work for setting up a new plant in the Kathmandu Valley.

The plant to be set up in Khumaltar, Lalitpur, will mainly produce dairy products like mozzarella cheese, paneer, ice-cream and curd.

DDC recently completed acquisition of 6.5 ropanies of land for the purpose. “We have completed fencing the land,” said DDC Spokesperson Ram Tapeshwor Chaudhari. The corporation will soon call for bidding to hire a consultant to build the production plant.

The plant is estimated to produce over 30,000 litres of curd daily. Construction of the plant is estimated to cost around Rs 150 million, said Chaudhari.

Currently, DDC has been supplying milk and dairy products from its outlets at Lainchaur and Balaju in Kathmandu, and Biratnagar, Hetauda, Kohalpur and Lumbini. DDC produces around 1,300 tonnes of dairy products every year. But the demand is increasing at the rate of 12 percent annually and meeting the demand has been a tough job, according to DDC.

DDC also plans to setup 25 additional chilling centres across the country in the next fiscal year. As of now, DDC has 45 chilling centres, including 22 in the Capital and surrounding districts, where it stores collected milk. Chaudhary said they collect 35,000-40,000 litres of milk daily at chilling centres located outside the valley.

According to DDC, over 100,000 farmers, including 900 cooperatives, supply milk to these chilling centres. “The new chilling centres will increase DDC’s production capacity,” said Chaudhary.

With the production of 135,000 litres of milk daily, DDC supplies 40 percent of the total milk consumed in the country. Of the total production, 35,000 litres of unprocessed milk is imported daily from India.

Source: Kantipur