Foreign investment necessary to develop dairy sector: speakers

The dairy industry of Bangladesh will flourish if adequate foreign investment and technical assistance are provided, speakers at a roundtable said yesterday.

Through investment and assistance, local dairy farmers will be able to increase production, which will ultimately help in reducing the price of milk and increase overall protein consumption, they added.

Bangla daily Prothom Alo, in association with Arla Foods Bangladesh Ltd, organised the discussion on “Development of local dairy sector” at the newspaper's office in Dhaka.

Danish Ambassador Winnie Estrup Petersen said Denmark and Bangladesh, as part of their long-lasting friendship, signed a treaty last year to work together for the development of the local dairy sector.

The dairy industry of Bangladesh has a lot of potential and there are opportunities to work in this sector, she added.

Hiresh Ranjan Bhowmik, director general of Department of Livestock Services, said many dairy farmers do not get proper price of milk due to middlemen -- an issue that should be resolved to create new entrepreneurs.

Abdul Quayum, associate editor of Prothom Alo; Nathu Ram Sarker, director general of Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute; Peter Hallberg, managing director of Arla Foods; and Ghulam Rahman, president of Consumers Association of Bangladesh, also spoke at the programme.