Mazoon Dairy Company, the flagship dairy project of the Sultanate of Oman, has marked a significant milestone in the agricultural and economic development of Oman with the arrival of 1,600 cows from Australia to the state-of-the-art dairy farm in Al Sunaynah.

The cows will breathe life into Mazoon Dairy’s 15 square kilometre fully-integrated farm, centralised processing plant and other facilities in Al Sunaynah and will help meet the market demand for high-quality, fresh dairy products.

These are the first of 8,250 cows expected to be imported by 2020. Production is planned to commence in the second quarter of this year with the objective to produce over 200 million litres of milk annually by 2026, and to increase capacity to over 900 million litres by 2040.

HE Dr. Rashid Al-Masroori, Chairman of Mazoon Dairy Company, said: “The arrival of the cows marks a significant step in our journey towards a more sustainable and productive growth phase for Mazoon Dairy and the Oman economy. It takes us closer to our larger goal of establishing the Sultanate as a self-sufficient dairy producer and a hub for food manufacturing.”

Dr. Arjun Subramanian, CEO, Mazoon Dairy Company, said: “Mazoon Dairy is committed to ensuring the highest standards across the supply chain and this includes ensuring the health, safety and welfare of our cattle.  Al Sunaynah was selected as the site for the dairy facility because of the abundance of water, fertile soil and a comfortable climate to accommodate the cattle. We have also invested in a highly experienced team of internationally-trained farm managers and agro-experts, who have spent decades in the agriculture and farming business in various parts of the world and an expert team of Omanis who are now committed to the success of Mazoon Dairy in Oman.”

Once operational this year, Mazoon Dairy Company will provide quality home-produced dairy and juice products, including milk, yoghurt, laban, fresh cream, cheese and ice cream.

Mazoon Dairy Company is one of the largest projects in the Sultanate, with investments from the Oman Food Investment Company, the Oman Investment Fund, Oman Dairy Products and Derivatives, the Civil Service Pension Fund, Al Hosn Investment Company and the Royal Office Pension Fund.