FDBusiness.com

A new Dano® milk powder packaging facility is now operational in Dakar, capital of Senegal. As Arla Foods pursues its 2020 strategy, Senegal will be an important market and gateway to further expansion in the West African region.

The new plant has a capacity to annually handle 5,000 tonnes of milk powder made in Europe from the milk of Arla’s farmer-owners. At the 14,000 square meters 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 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 offers 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 approximately 14 million people. Its dairy market is quite developed with an estimated value of Eur250 million. The fastest growing categories are flavoured 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.

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.