Namibia: Shortage Of Milk Expected To Continue

NAMIBIA - THE global supply of milk is growing, but not at the pace the demand has increased.
calendar icon 24 August 2007
clock icon 1 minute read
As a result consumers globally are experiencing shortages of dairy products, with projections that this situation will prevail for at least a further 12 months.

Desmond van Jaarsveld, Managing Director of Namibia Dairies, yesterday attributed the international shortage of milk to macro-economic factors such as the drought in Australia, a leading supplier of skimmed milk - a key ingredient to global dairy producers - and the withdrawal of farm subsidies by European countries, which resulted in many farmers abandoning the dairy industry.

He added that across the globe the demand for dairy products has increased, referring to the example of China where consumers are increasingly changing to a "westernised" diet, thereby creating an enormous demand worldwide.

In the Namibian market, Namibia Dairies holds an estimated local market share of over 50 per cent in respect of all product categories.

The local demand for long-life milk (UHT milk) is estimated at one million litres a month, of which the local industry supplies 30 to 40 per cent, with the residual volume coming mainly from South Africa.

For many years, consumers favoured UHT milk over fresh milk mainly because of its lower retail price, availability, and longer shelf live.

Source: AllAfrica.com
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