mmg.com.au

A $7.8 million expansion of Tatura Milk’s cream cheese-making plant will create extra jobs and require at least 30 million more litres of milk.

Tatura’s owner Bega Cheese and the Victorian Government announced the project at a trade fair in the Middle Eastern city of Dubai yesterday.

The factory will boost production capacity for cream cheese by 7000 tonnes to 22000 tonnes annually.

The Tatura facility has been producing cream cheese and specialty frozen milk-fat ingredients for more than 30 years.

It exports dairy products to key markets in the Persian Gulf region, including the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Bega Cheese chief executive Aidan Coleman said the expansion had been a 12-month project and would generate added investment and jobs in the dairy industry, and further drive innovation and export outcomes.

‘‘This follows our purchase and investment in the former Kraft site at Strathmerton, which has significantly increased our production capacity in northern Victoria,’’ Mr Coleman said.

‘‘We are proud to be working with the Victorian Government on these ongoing trade and investment projects, including the Dairy Nutriceuticals to Asia Program, which aims to significantly increase our export of infant formula, and other nutritional powders to Asia and the Middle East.’’

The Tatura factory will need an extra 30 to 40 million litres of milk per year once the expansion is running at full capacity in three years.

As to whether the region can supply the milk so soon after the drought, Tatura Milk figures show a 20 per cent increase in milk intake last month compared to the same month last year.

Murray Dairy chief executive Sarah Parker said regional milk production was up by an average of 10 per cent and the latest farmer surveys indicated they were among the most optimistic about the future of any region in Australia.

Victorian Innovation, Services and Small Business Minister Louise Asher made the announcement jointly with Bega.

‘‘This announcement is a clear sign of the strength of Victoria’s dairy industry and, in particular, the opportunities present for our clean, safe and reliable dairy exports to the Middle East,’’ she said.