PepsiCo has launched a cottage cheese product under its Merry Milkman brand in Kyrgyzstan with the start-up of a new production line at its Bishkeksut facility in the country.

The new fully-automated production line has the capacity to produce around 7,000kg of cheese daily and follows the “significant modernisation” of the plant over several years, PepsiCo said in a statement.

The Bishkeksut facility produces a range of Merry Milkman and other branded dairy products, PepsiCo said. The US group said it cooperates with three large farms and more than a thousand private producers, purchasing around 19,000 tons of milk annually.

Kyrgyzstan Prime Minister Sooronbai Jeenbekov, who attended a ceremony marking the launch of the new production line, said the facility is now set to expand its range of products. “It is encouraging that Bishkeksut uses local raw materials and supplies its dairy products not only in the domestic market but also for export.”