GLOUCESTER councillors have thrown their full support behind a proposal to build a powdered milk factory in the shire.
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Dairy Connect’s Mike Logan spoke with councillors at length about plans to develop three powdered milk plants in the State, with Gloucester one of the preferred options.
Mr Logan said the construction of the first plant, in Orange, is expected to begin soon and will potentially create up to 100 jobs.
He said each plant would process up to 150 million litres of milk per year, with the powder product then exported.
“At the moment the only channel for dairy farmers in NSW to sell into is the supermarket trade and we all know what’s happening there,” Mr Logan told councillors.
“The second channel for industry is export - and the answer is China.”
Mr Logan said Dairy Connect hoped to convince investors to build three powdered milk factories in NSW, the first in Orange, the second in Gloucester and another in the south of the State.
He said Gloucester was ideally located to receive milk from the northern parts of the State and there was the likelihood of the region having a readily available gas supply, with 40 per cent of the costs involved in running a powdered milk factory absorbed in energy expenses.
“Gloucester may have energy and it’s got milk,” he said.
“Milk from Tamworth, the Liverpool Plains, the Hunter, the Manning and the north coast could all be drawn into this region.”
Mr Logan said he anticipated a factory could be built in Gloucester as early as 2017.
Councillors were overwhelmingly supportive of the proposal, but mayor John Rosenbaum did voice reservations about milk being exported to China from an area where both coal seam gas and open cut coal mines were present.
“My understanding is that there is no discount on milk from a coal seam gas area,” Mr Logan said.
“I’ve looked into this issue quite extensively and I can find no evidence of it.”