DEMERARA Distillers Limited (DDL) has expanded its growing dairy herd with the arrival of 473 pregnant heifers at the Hakh Friendship Port, East Bank Demerara, as work continues on its US$30 million state-of-the-art dairy farm at Moblissa on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway.
According to a release from DDL, the cattle arrived late Friday night aboard the Danish-flagged livestock carrier MV Alondra, marking the first time a dedicated livestock carrier has docked at Port Georgetown to deliver animals.
The 97.54-metre vessel transported the high-yield cattle from the United States on a seven-day voyage to Guyana.
The latest shipment follows the arrival of an initial herd of 85 pregnant heifers on May 9. Those animals were flown into the Cheddi Jagan International Airport aboard a specialised Amerijet charter to establish the foundation herd for Demerara Dairy Inc. (DDI).
With the arrival of the latest batch, DDL is now significantly scaling up its herd ahead of the start of commercial milk production at Moblissa.
The cattle, sourced from a farm in Seattle, Washington, were transported by road to Florida before beginning their journey by sea to Guyana.
Upon the vessel’s arrival shortly before 23:00hrs, the cattle underwent health and regulatory inspections by the relevant authorities, including the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) and Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
Following clearance, the animals were transported by specialised livestock trucks to the Moblissa facility. Each truck carried approximately 23 cows, with the animals being moved in three cycles under escort from the Guyana Police Force.
DDL Executive Chairman Komal Samaroo described the shipment as a major step in the development of the Moblissa project, noting that the company had successfully navigated a large-scale maritime livestock operation.
He said the arrival of the additional cattle would accelerate DDL’s plans to establish a sustainable dairy operation while strengthening Guyana’s livestock industry and food security.
“The arrival of this specialised livestock carrier marks a monumental step forward not just for DDL, but for Guyana’s agricultural infrastructure. Building upon our initial air-freight shipment in May that established the foundation of our herd, navigating a maritime logistics operation of this scale demonstrates our absolute commitment to realising the full potential of the Moblissa project,” Samaroo is quoted, adding:
“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 Moblissa dairy farm forms part of DDL’s diversification programme and is also aligned with regional efforts under the CARICOM food-security initiative to increase local production and reduce the Caribbean’s dependence on imported food.
The project is expected to boost domestic production of fresh milk and other dairy products while contributing to the development of Guyana’s agricultural sector.
Back in 2022, the Guyana Chronicle had reported that DDL in partnership with the LR Group of Israel, had identified several acres of land at Moblissa for the construction of the dairy farm.
The operation is designed to supply DDL’s TOPCO milk plant with fresh cows’ milk for pasteurisation and packaging and will produce over four million litres of fresh milk per year when operationalised.
