KMF to partner NZ firm for setting up cheese unit

KMF chairman G Somasekara Reddy in a press release has stated that it has been proposed to set up the Rs 80-crore cheese unit on a 10-acre land. The Federation will spend Rs 40 crore for the project.

The KMF will provide milk and other infrastructure for the unit. The Fonterra group will bring in the technical knowhow and help in producing world-class milk products, which would be marketed across the globe. Cheese has high demand and hence the proposed project will be a success, Reddy has said.

A 25-member team, including the 11 directors, managing director and Reddy, visited Fonterra installations during its seven-day New Zealand tour. The Fonterra group has a large base of about 10,650 farmers and the unit produces 85 varieties of milk products.
New Zealand farmers have set an example in harnessing technology for dairy farming. Five persons manage 1,000 cows, which yield 50,000 litres of milk a day.

As many as 60 cows are milked in just eight minutes with the help of machines. The cattle are allowed to graze on a 900-acre land and no shelters have been constructed for them, the press release said.

Reddy has said that the KMF has set a target to produce 50 lakh litres of milk a day against the current production of 38.40 lakh litres. The Federation has registered a 12 per cent growth with the profit going up to Rs 30 crore in 2010-11 compared to Rs 14 crore in 2009-10.