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Milk Vita, a state-run organization, is set to begin producing global-standard baby food locally by the end of this year, marking the first such initiative in the country’s history.
“We are working to achieve the capability of producing international standard infant food such as Lactogen 1, 2, and 3 by December this year,” Chairman of Bangladesh Milk Producer’s Co-Operative Union Limited (Milk Vita) S M Amir Hamza Shatil told BSS in an interview here recently.
He said currently, none of the “Lactose 1, 2, 3” type infant formula products available in Bangladesh and are manufactured locally as it requires specific international certifications, high-quality milk, and highly controlled manufacturing systems.
He said Bangladesh has not yet developed the level of raw material quality and infrastructure needed for this industry. Issues related to milk quality, adulteration, and the complexity of production has prevented local companies from entering this sector so far.
“Although producing such products may not be highly profitable…but it is an important social responsibility. Milk Vita takes this initiative from a sense of social responsibility rather than making profit,” he said.
He said the infant food market in Bangladesh is quite large. While there is no exact figure, the estimated market size for imported infant food products is around Taka 30 billion. This includes not only lactose-based infant formulas but also products like Cerelac and similar baby nutrition items.
Since many products enter the country through different import channels, obtaining an exact market volume is difficult. If international-standard infant food can be produced locally, it may initially be possible to meet around 10–20 percent of market demand.
Even with an annual production capacity of 400–500 tons, covering more than 20–30 percent of the market would still be challenging, he said adding that Milk Vita will gradually increase its baby food production to meet the increasing local demand.
The products of Milk Vita include pasteurized liquid milk, ghee, butter, sweet yogurt, sour yogurt, rasmalai, rasgolla, labang, mattha, cake, chocobar, ice cream, lollies, pera sandesh, kacha chhana sandesh, special pot yogurt, full-cream milk powder, skimmed milk powder, toned milk, and flavored milk.
Noting that now the organization is going to produce baby food, the chairman also expressed strong determination to ensure fair prices for farmers’ milk, introduce digital management, provide financial support to dairy farmers, and increase production capacity.
He said when he assumed office on April 1, daily milk collection was around 167,000 liters. It has now increased to 225,000 liters.
“Through better governance and management alone, we have been able to increase milk collection by around 50,000 to 55,000 liters per day. Our target now is to raise it to 400,000 liters,” he said.
Shatil further said Milk Vita not only collects milk but also provides farmers with low-cost cattle feed, artificial insemination, vaccines, medicines, training, and grazing facilities as it leases about 1,063 acres of pasture land to cooperative farmers at nominal rates.
Regarding financial support for farmers, he said a loan facility of around Taka 120 crore is in its final stage of approval through a private bank. The loans will be provided based on full digital profiling, he added.
After the Eid-ul-Azha period, a pilot project will begin in Baghabari, Sirajganj, where each farmer will receive a loan of Taka 250,000.
He added that payments to farmers are currently made through cooperatives, but the system is being fully digitized.
In future, each farmer will have a digital profile and payments will be directly transferred to their bank accounts.
Milk Vita, he said, is not just a dairy processing company but a socially responsible institution connected to the livelihood of millions of farmers.
The organization provides a “buyback guarantee” so that farmers do not have to worry about selling milk.
The chairman noted that Milk Vita originated from Bangladesh’s traditional Cumilla cooperative model and was brought under state management after independence.
Its golden era was between 1977 and 1982. Most of its existing factories were established between 1976 and 1979.
He said after the BNP government came to power in 2001, new machinery was purchased, but later governments did not use them. Now efforts are underway to restart those machines, he mentioned.
He said although Milk Vita has assets, infrastructure, and skilled manpower, it has suffered from management inefficiencies and shortages of engineers, doctors, and technical staff.
According to him, new machines are being introduced to reduce pressure on old equipment, and unused machinery is being reactivated.
A rational management system is also being introduced to improve efficiency.
Initiatives are also underway to restart the Mohonpur cattle feed plant.
In addition, work is ongoing to establish an ice cream, UHT milk, and cheese factory in Gabtali, Bogura.
Plans are also being made to set up new dairy plants in the Rangpur–Dinajpur–Thakurgaon region to increase milk production, improve quality, expand export markets, and produce internationally standard baby food.
The chairman said a rebranding initiative is underway, including changes to packaging, quality control, and marketing systems. Within one year, 30 Milk Vita brand shops will be opened in the capital, offering premium-quality products at affordable prices, he said.
He also said efforts are being made to improve livestock breeds, including experimental approval for importing high-quality cattle semen to expand British breed Jersey cattle.
On environmental protection, he said research is ongoing with the Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute to reduce methane gas emissions from livestock feed by around 30 percent.
“Our biggest challenge is ensuring a market for farmers’ produce. Milk Vita is working to guarantee that if farmers produce milk, we will buy it—that is our biggest commitment,” he said.
He added that although importing milk powder could have been more profitable, Milk Vita continues to prioritize local milk collection to support farmers.
Bangladesh imports approximately 10,000 tonnes of baby food annually, with a market size worth around Tk 3000 to 4,000 crore.
The industry imports roughly 10 percent of finished products, while 90 percent is imported as industrial raw materials (bulk) for local processing and packaging.
