Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) yesterday said that it had reached another milestone in the development of its state-of-the-art US$30 million dairy farm at Moblissa, with the arrival of a second shipment of high-yield milking cattle on Friday night at the Hakh Friendship Port on the East Bank of Demerara.
This shipment of 473 pregnant heifers follows the May 9 arrival of a foundational
herd of 85 pregnant heifers flown directly into the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) via a specialised Amerijet charter to launch operations for Demerara Dairy Inc. (DDI), a release from the company said yesterday.
“The arrival of this second batch by sea significantly expands the growing herd, rapidly scaling up operations at the Moblissa site ahead of commercial milk production”, the release said.
The arrival, it said, marks a historic development for Guyana, as it is the first time a dedicated Livestock Carrier has docked at Port Georgetown to deliver livestock. The animals were transported aboard the Danish-flagged livestock vessel MV ALONDRA (IMO: 9113719), a 97.54-metre-long and 15.9-metre-wide specialised carrier.
Procured from a farm in Seattle, Washington USA, the cattle travelled by road to
Florida before embarking on a seven-day ocean voyage to Georgetown.
Upon docking just before 23:00h, the vessel and its cargo were processed through health and regulatory inspections led by government agencies, including the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA). Following clearance, the cows were transported by road to Moblissa, Soesdyke-Linden Highway on specialised livestock trucks. Each truck took approximately 23 cows in three cycles.
Commenting on the arrival and the expansion of the herd, Komal Samaroo, DDL Executive Chairman, highlighted the strategic importance of the shipment saying,
“With these additional high-grade animals safely on the ground at Moblissa alongside
our initial stock, we are significantly accelerating our vision to establish a world-class,
sustainable dairy operation that will enhance Guyana’s food security and transform our
national livestock industry”.
The release stated that the Moblissa dairy farm project is central to DDL’s diversification strategy and aligns with national and regional efforts under the CARICOM food security initiative to reduce the food import bill.
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