Dairy cows eat fodder in a modern barn in Phaxay district, Xieng Khuang province. - Vientiane Times/ANN
VIENTIANE, Dec 19 (Vientiane Times/ANN): Vinamilk Laos - Jagro plans to export fresh milk to Vietnam in May next year after the company recently built a modern milking barn in Phaxay district, Xieng Khuang province.
Vinamilk Laos – Jagro is financed by Lao-Jagro Development Xieng Khuang Co., Ltd. (Lao-Jagro), in which Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) holds a 51 percent stake, with the first phase of the project costing US$120 million.
The Director of Agriculture and Land of Vinamilk Laos – Jagro, Sengpan Phetdala, told Vientiane Times last week that the company currently has 1,000 dairy cows that were imported from America in July.
Following artificial insemination, the cows have become pregnant and it is expected that in May 2023 milking will start, producing 35,000-40,000 litres per day.
The company plans to import 3,000 more cows in March so that the total herd will number 4,000 cows, which will double in the year after breeding.
Sengpan said the company has planted crops on an area of more than 1,000 hectares and finished constructing and equipping milking barns with machinery that can provide dairy farming technology for 8,000 cows.
He added that when the project is fully developed and the full herd of 8,000 cows has been assembled, it will create direct jobs for hundreds of Lao workers and indirect jobs for more than a thousand people through the expansion of production to provide food and services for the project, as well as adding income, value added tax, and corporate income tax to the state budget.
The first phase of the farm will cover 5,000 hectares and involve 24,000 cows. The second phase is expected to expand the farm to 15,000-20,000 hectares with a breeding scale of 100,000 cows.
Total investment in the two phases will run up to US$500 million.
The farm is expected to be the top-ranking organic dairy farm and resort in Asia due to favourable natural conditions, experience in dairy farming, and the application of leading edge technology.
The farm intends to meet the stringent organic standards required by Japan, Europe and the United States.
Vinamilk is the number one dairy company in Vietnam and ranks among the top 50 largest dairy companies in the world. It owns the largest Global G.A.P. farm system in Asia and exports milk products to 50 countries. - Vientiane Times/ANN
