Arla Foods opens new site in Senegal
Arla’s new Dano® milk powder packaging facility has been officially opened in Dakar, capital of Senegal. The new site is an important step for the farmer-owned dairy company as it pursues its 2020 Strategy with Senegal a significant gateway to further expansion in the West African region.
The new plant has a capacity to annually handle 5,000 tonnes milk powder made in Europe from Arla’s farmer owners’ milk. At the 1,400m2 plant, fat filled milk powder and instant whole milk powder will be re-packed into various retail-sized packaging, for example foil sachets, which are affordable and easy to mix with water to get a glass of milk.
“The facility is the latest milestone in Arla’s ambition to actively take part in developing the dairy market in West Africa and providing affordable nutrition of high quality to consumers in the region. It will also contribute with jobs as we will initially employ 20 people in the production and more as we grow the sales and thereby also the production volume,” says Steen Hadsbjerg, head of Arla in Sub Saharan Africa.
The sachets from the plant will initially be distributed to wholesalers and stores in Senegal by Arla’s partner, Dakar-based partner Agroline S.A. and later extended to neighboring countries.
“Agroline has a very strong ambient and chilled distribution setup across Senegal. Senegal will be our hub for expanding into Mali and also Mauretania with our products. Depending on capacity we expect to launch in Mali later this year,” says Steen Hadsbjerg.
Arla already offer Dano® long-life liquid milk in Senegal and the ambition is to drive a full value added product range. In addition to the retail business, In March 2016, Arla signed a mozzarella agreement with YUM-YUM, a local pizza chain in Senegal.
Senegal’s population is approx. 14 million people. Its dairy market is quite developed with an estimated value of 250mEUR. The fastest growing categories are flavored milk powder, evaporated milk and yogurt. Average growth of the market is projected at +5 per cent per year until 2020.Senegal plays a major role as transit country for milk powder imported in Mali, Burkina Faso etc.
Human rights assessment in Senegal
In 2015, Arla conducted a human rights assessment in Senegal to ensure that the company’s activities in the country do not bring unintentional negative consequences for the local dairy sector and its related communities.
Read the full Human rights assessment report here: http://www.arla.com/globalassets/arla-global/company---overview/responsibility/human-rights/arla-human-rights-assessment-in-senegal-november-2015_1.pdf
Arla Foods is a global dairy company and co-operative owned by 12,700 dairy farmers with circa 2,700 of whom are British.
Dating back to 1881, Arla’s purpose is to secure the highest value for its farmers’ milk, while creating opportunities for their growth. With production facilities in 11 countries and sales offices in a further 30, Arla is the world’s fifth largest dairy company and largest supplier of organic dairy products. Arla has a total of more than 18,000 colleagues and its products are sold under the well-known brands Arla®, Lurpak® and Castello® in more than 100 countries.
Arla Foods UK is the largest dairy company in the country and is home to leading dairy brands Anchor, Cravendale, and Lactofree with a turnover of €2.9 billion. As well as being a leading supplier of fresh milk, number one in butter, spreads and cream, Arla is the UK’s largest cheese manufacturer. It has also built the world’s largest fresh milk facility located at Aylesbury and has plans for it to be the first zero carbon site of its kind. The UK business has a team of approximately 3,500 colleagues located at its dairies, distribution centres and head office.