The plant of LLP Eurasian Milk with a milk processing capacity of more than 110 thousand tons per year is being prepared for launch in Kazakhstan

The Eurasian Milk plant opens on the basis of a dairy enterprise in Petropavlovsk, the history of which began in 1928. Almost a century later, one of the oldest food processing enterprises in the region is being revived at a completely new technological level. The first batch of dairy products produced at the new plant will be delivered to retail chains in December 2020.

During the online conference, it was noted that the launch of such a large-scale project during the global crisis, according to experts, is a serious contribution to the stabilization of the country's economy. The holding company Eurasian Foods Corporation (EFC) is one of the major taxpayers, the amount of deductions to the state budget last year amounted to more than 9 billion tenge. Tax revenues will also grow at the expense of the new Eurasian Milk enterprise, which means that the regional budget will receive additional funds, and in general, this modern enterprise can become a locomotive of economic development for the entire region.

$12 million was allocated for the modernization of the plant. This is a significant amount, comparable to the cost of building a new enterprise, while 70% of the invested funds are own resources of the Eurasian Foods Corporation holding. According to the level of technical equipment, Eurasian Milk will become one of the most modern dairy production facilities in the country. Thus, the plant has several lines: a German line for receiving and processing milk, a Swiss line for the production of butter, an Austrian line for the production of cheeses and an Italian line specifically for the production of mozzarella cheeses. This configuration of the plant is the first and only one in Kazakhstan.

The result of modernization of the enterprise will be the production of new high-quality products in a wide range and, in the end, an increase in the share of domestic producers in the dairy market of the region and all over Kazakhstan. Thus, according to EFC experts, the share of domestic producers in the butter category in the country's market is 33%, and in the cheese category does not exceed 5%. After the launch, the Eurasian Milk plant will process 50 thousand tons of milk per year, the volume of production of finished products will be 14.5 thousand tons per year, of which 3.5 thousand tons will be cheese production. During this period, the company will focus on the production of butter, sour cream, various types of cheeses, including mozzarella cheeses. When the production capacity is reached, the volume of milk processing will be 110 thousand tons per year.

The company found a new life after it became a part of the holding. The staff of the plant has increased significantly and is now 150 people, and in the future it is planned to expand. At a time of economic crisis, when many businesses are forced to cut staff or make them take unpaid leave due to the pandemic, creating new jobs is particularly important. Young specialists who get a job at the plant will be able to get a professional education, the basis for further professional growth. In addition, ensuring the life of a large enterprise is impossible without the support of service companies, which means that thanks to the opening of Eurasian Milk, jobs will also appear in related industries, which will provide the region with new opportunities for economic growth.

Despite the unprecedented restrictions imposed in the context of the pandemic, the suspension of communications between equipment manufacturers, the extreme difficulty in finding and attracting unique specialists-builders, engineers, adjusters who are familiar with the specifics of dairy production, all work on the re-equipment of the enterprise was carried out in the shortest possible time. No more than a year has passed since the design. A test launch of the equipment took place today, and the plant is scheduled to be put into operation next month. It will take time to master the production of complex dairy products, create and develop an assortment line, but we have attracted technologists-international experts from the "dairy" countries - Austria, Switzerland, and the Baltic States. We will work on the processes and recipes, and we hope that the products from the North Kazakhstan region will be known not only in Kazakhstan, said Andrey Gritsenko, General Director of LLP Eurasian Milk.

The modernization and commissioning of the most modern dairy processing plant in the country indicates that the food industry of Kazakhstan continues to grow in quality, despite the pandemic and the economic crisis, and domestic businesses are increasing their own investment in the industry. Last year, the head of state stressed the need to strengthen the position of North Kazakhstan producers in this industry. This initiative was supported by the Akimat of the North Kazakhstan region. The management of Eurasian Foods Corporation also considers the development of the dairy processing industry as one of the new and promising areas for the development of the holding's business.

However, the growth in the industry is hindered by a well-known problem for domestic dairy processing enterprises, which is a shortage of high-quality milk suitable for industrial processing. The reason for this is the fragmentation and weakness of small farms, which account for a significant part of the supply of raw materials, and lack of access to high-quality feed and veterinary care for livestock. According to experts, raw milk is a product with a very short shelf life and a very long and costly period for improving quality and increasing production volumes.

The management of Eurasian Milk is interested in ensuring that raw milk delivered to the company from farms meets the strictest acceptance criteria. Therefore, the company plans to cooperate with local farms, providing a guaranteed and long-term demand for farm products. One of the main tasks of the company is to build partnerships with farmers and sign contracts with them for several years to come. Eurasian Milk intends to act as a guarantor in lending to farms, as well as in case of need to provide farmers with the necessary equipment. The specialists of the company intend to pay great attention to the educational component: specialist consultations and seminars on animal husbandry will be organized specifically for farmers, and invited experts will talk about modern agricultural technologies that are already successfully used by farmers from other countries.

Thus, the management of Eurasian Milk will support the efforts of the regional authorities to develop the dairy industry. In Northern Kazakhstan, there is already a program for the development of dairy farms aimed at improving the quality characteristics of milk, increasing the share of large farms in the supply of raw materials for industry enterprises. The state also provides support to the industry through a mechanism for subsidizing investments.

According to Ivan Kolesnikov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of JSC Eurasian Foods Corporation, with the entry of Eurasian Milk into EFC, the holding opens up a new promising business direction, the development of which will allow the holding to strengthen its position in the market of Kazakhstan, as well as help provide Kazakhstanis with high-quality and affordable dairy products.

- The task of the company is to ensure minimum cost with maximum quality in everything, starting with raw materials. However, this is only possible if modern technologies, efficient organization, and high productivity are combined. Small factories with simple technology, as well as small farms that do not have modern equipment, high-quality livestock and feed, unfortunately, cannot compete with Belarusian, Ukrainian or Baltic companies. In turn, our production is aimed at processing at least 110 thousand tons of milk per year, which is the optimal level. We plan to do our best to improve the competitiveness of the dairy industry, and we will build long-term trusting relationships with farmers, but they must be economically justified. We need to move from the principle "we produce little, we sell expensive" to the principle "we produce a lot, we sell at a competitive price with the leading countries in this segment of the economy", - says Ivan Kolesnikov.

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