The Fiji Cooperative Dairy Company is currently outlining plans to import cattle from New Zealand to help boost dairy production in Fiji.

Chief Executive Kushmendra Prasad says that $2 million has been allocated for this project, considering the challenges faced by farmers in terms of mortality rate and quality breed for higher production.

He says the project is currently in its early stages of planning, and in order for the export project to be successful, there is a need for closer consideration on risks like disease control.

“What the government needs is an industry to supply with a paper that carries the risk analysis, and we have been told by biosecurity that there is some disease not present in Fiji and present in New Zealand, so we have to see how we can mitigate this disease or how we can import animals so that we don’t introduce any new disease in Fiji.”

Meanwhile, one of the major challenges faced by farmers was the mortality rate of calves, due to brucellosis and bovine tuberculosis.

A cattle importation committee has been set up to look into the issue and carry out this project.