By AFIQ AZIZ / Pic By ISMAIL CHE RUS

Fonterra Brands Malaysia Sdn Bhd has targeted to increase its dairy production output by 130% to about 55,000 tonnes within the next five years.

Operation director Mathieu Lostie said the projected level is based on the encouraging growth in dairy consumption, especially in South-East Asia.

To achieve the target, he said the company is expected to invest up to RM80 million in its Susumas plant in Selangor, which would uplift the quality and standard of the company’s products.

Between 2010 and 2016, the company invested RM60 million, with an additional RM20 million in 2016, to enhance its food safety and quality standards, as well as improving its operational efficiency.

“We conduct close to seven million tests on our milk and products every year to ensure that they meet rigorous international food safety and quality standard, as well as comply with Malaysia halal certificate requirement,” he said.

Lostie said the company is conducting an external audit for food quality assurance, in addition to internal checks that include the X-Ray procedure.

Susumas is the manufacturing and exporting hub in the region of the New Zealand farms cooperation. It consumes milk powder imported from New Zealand, before packing and blending the milk into finished products.

The site covers 17,404 sq m of land with a capacity to produce 35,000 metric tonnes of milk powder on an annual basis. It now produces only 24,000 tonnes.

Lostie said the plant’s production volumes have been moving upward since the upgrade, which is also driven by export markets and sachets.

He said Fonterra is expected to report a 20% export growth, while local demand would increase at a conservative rate of 5% this year.

The company currently exports more than 100 dairy products to 11 countries from the Susumas facility, mainly in South-East Asia including the Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, as well as in other regions such as Qatar, Madagascar and Mauritius.

“We expect the export market will grow bigger because South-East Asia’s consumption of dairy products is one of the fastest growing in the world.

“The regional market is expected to grow by 3% every year until 2020, making it one of the largest consumers of dairy products globally,” he told reporters in Shah Alam yesterday.

He added that based on the Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook report, SouthEast Asian population has grown by 41% since 1990.

“In 2019, we forecast total volume export would increase up to 60%, while the local consumption stays at 5%,” he said, adding that currently, the company produces an equal to 50% of dairy products to the market via Susumas.

“The 60% growth is expected to be generated from the Philippines market as the country has a higher expectation in terms of food quality — which meets our new standards after the huge investment,” he said.

Fonterra established its first Malaysian manufacturing facility, Susumas, in 1992.

Seven years later, the company began operation of its second plant, Dairymas, which has the capacity to process around 16,000 tonnes of youghurt and cultured products annually, producing CalciYum, Fernleaf and Anlene brands for local consumptions.

Both the manufacturing facilities have a combined annual capacity of 46,000 tonnes of dairy products.

• Para (3 & 18 ) has been edited and replaced based on the feedback for clarity and correctness.