Cosmopal raises investment to boost fertiliser production

9/18/2009 — Business Times
COSMOPAL Sdn Bhd, a goat breeder, has raised its investments by 17 per cent to boost the production of its bio-organic fertiliser factory by half.
It will now invest RM3.5 million and this will expand its plant’s capacity to 300 tonnes per month from 200 tonnes before.
The factory is located at the Permanent Food Production Park in Serating, Marang, Terengganu.
Under the East Coast Economic Region master plan, Terengganu has been identified as an important goat multiplier and farming hub to provide national food security, reduce the country’s dependency on imports and create downstream activities.
“We supply 80 per cent of the fertilisers produced to Terengganu farmers and the rest will go to the Klang Valley,” Cosmopal director Zainudin Zakaria said in a statement.
This is a part of Cosmopal’s integrated approach in goat breeding which includes the supply of goat and meat as well as its byproduct of organic fertiliser.
The market for bio-organic fertiliser is growing.
“The organic fertiliser is environmental-friendly, suitable for kinds of agriculture yet harmless to humans.
“The organic fertiliser is cheaper than its chemical version and will enrich soil. This production plant is part of our diversification of downstream activities besides breeding goats and producing goat leather,” he said.
Demand for bio-organic fertilisers is also tied to demand for organic products.
World demand for organic food is expected to grow by 46 per cent over the five years ending 2012, despite the world economic crisis, said a United Nations Trade and Development Agency report.
Global sales of certified organic products are expected to reach US$67 billion (RM232.49 billion) in 2012, up from US$46 billion (RM159.62 billion) in 2007 and about US$23 billion (RM79.81 billion) in 2002.
Cosmopal began operations in 2005 on a 20ha site in Serating and has obtained approval from the Terengganu state government to expand its farm by another 20ha, which will bring its total headcount for goats to 4,000 in the near future.