The Fiji Cooperative Dairy Company Limited has a huge gap to fill to become self-sufficient in meeting the local milk demand.

FCDCL Chief Executive Kushmendra Prasad says Fijians consume 60 million litres of milk annually, but local production is at around 7 million litres.

Prasad says milk production continues to be a major challenge for them as the industry has suffered significantly due to bovine tuberculosis and brucellosis in dairy cows.

“All the stakeholders are trying to do their best with the new interventions so that the farmer, cooperative and the factory does not make losses but can fill at least 50 percent of the gap.”

Prasad says dairy cows require proper diet for milk production, body maintenance and good health.

“If farmers want to save cost then they should depend on the pasture. The other thing is to feed cows properly. Feed proper nutrients to the cows in the lactation period, late lactation and even when they are in dry, they should be fed properly.”

The Agriculture Ministry believes the sector can become self-sufficient because this is a feat that has been achieved in the past.