On August 22, Kyrgyzstan’s dairy company Siut Bulak has been sold to a Swiss investor in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic. Siut Bulak, whose products are marketed under the brand Dairy Spring, is one of the top players in the dairy industry in the country, the Embassy of Switzerland in the Kyrgyz Republic said.

This dairy company was created by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in the mid-90s within the cooperation program framework between Switzerland and the Kyrgyz Republic. The project initially aimed to revitalize production of milk and to improve the economic and social conditions in the north eastern part of the country thanks to a transfer of knowledge between Swiss and Kyrgyz cheese-makers. In 2008, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) invested into Siut Bulak becoming a shareholder along with SDC and local farmers.

Over the years, the dairy company developed its activities and reached stable profitability level. Thus SDC and EBRD decided to hand it over to the private sector. The Swiss company Spielhofer Swisscheese Ltd was selected through a competitive process which was jointly launched in October 2015 by SDC and EBRD, and which emphasized the importance of a new owner fulfilling social and environmental corporate responsibility criteria. The investment by Spielhofer Swisscheese Ltd underlines the economic potential and the healthy business climate in the Kyrgyz Republic.

Currently, Siut Bulak, which since summer 2016 has been producing the first local mozzarella in Kyrgyzstan, employs 70 staff and procures milk from about 2000 local producers through a network of 50 collecting points.