Namibia: Fresh Milk Production and Supplies Back to Normal
NAMIBIA - The Dairy Producers Association has assured consumers that the industry is producing enough milk for local consumption.Consumers last week had to go from shop to shop looking for fresh milk, which was absent from shelves due to problems experienced by Namibia dairies with its distribution.
DPA President, Japie Engelbrecht, told New Era on Tuesday that there were no problems with milk but with cheese and possibly with UHT milk.
"We have taken up the matter with Namibia Dairies and there are no shortages. As far as I know, the meeting was quite open and there is no such thing in the near future," he said.
Engelbrecht said the problem the industry is facing at present is lack of lucerne, which forms the main component in dairy cattle feed.
"There is nothing here or in South Africa until September/October when the first rains are expected," he said.
The DPA President said that usually lucerne was being sent to dairy farmers only, a situation that has since changed because farmers buy the feed in bulk to build up their reserves. This has resulted in losses of litres of milk but have no bearing on last week's problems.
Namibia Dairies said it has this week released a huge stock of milk onto the market after experiencing problems since Thursday last week.
Source: AllAfrica.com