Al Ain Dairy is set to boost production with a Dh400 million investment in a new farm and factory in Al Ain.
With milk prices across the Emirates controlled by the Government, dairy producers are eager to focus on improving manufacturing efficiency to boost margins.
“The market is growing organically at about 8 per cent,” said Shashi Kumar Menon, the chief operating officer at Al Ain Dairy. “Therefore our profits can only grow at between 6 and 8 per cent. About 98 per cent of what we feed a cow in the UAE is imported and the prices for agri-feed increase every year.”
The new farm and factory will be operational by 2016, but the dairy producer does not expect to reap profits from the new facility until 2017 at the earliest.
Despite the absence of rolling fields and lush pastures, milk yields from the UAE’s industrial faming methods are almost double that of Europe’s pasture-fed animals.
Al Ain Dairy, Saudi Arabia’s Almarai and Dubai’s Al Rawabi Dairy control 85 per cent of the local market.
“Milk is a commodity so visibility, availability and timely deliveries in the morning is the only small edge that you can get” said Mr Menon. “Milk is always white, you cannot be whiter, so it is very hard to differentiate. Our brand is very strong in the UAE, we target the local market and women in particular to trust that what we deliver is good for the family,“
While the UAE can meet most its milk demand from local production, it is not 100 per cent self sufficient – with the summer months and Ramadan seeing the biggest shortages.
Al Ain Dairy’s new farm and factory intends to meet local demand before it turns its attention further afield to export markets.
ascott@thenational.ae
Everything Now
Arcade Fire
(Columbia Records)
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
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Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Geneva from Dh2,845 return, including taxes. The flight takes 6 hours.
The package
Clinique La Prairie offers a variety of programmes. A six-night Master Detox costs from 14,900 Swiss francs (Dh57,655), including all food, accommodation and a set schedule of medical consultations and spa treatments.
Jewel of the Expo 2020
252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome
13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas
550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome
724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses
Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa
Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site
The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants
Al Wasl means connection in Arabic
World’s largest 360-degree projection surface
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Read more about the coronavirus
Key 2013/14 UAE Motorsport dates
October 4: Round One of Rotax Max Challenge, Al Ain (karting)
October 1: 1 Round One of the inaugural UAE Desert Championship (rally)
November 1-3: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Formula One)
November 28-30: Dubai International Rally
January 9-11: 24Hrs of Dubai (Touring Cars / Endurance)
March 21: Round 11 of Rotax Max Challenge, Muscat, Oman (karting)
April 4-10: Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (Endurance)
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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The biog
Age: 59
From: Giza Governorate, Egypt
Family: A daughter, two sons and wife
Favourite tree: Ghaf
Runner up favourite tree: Frankincense
Favourite place on Sir Bani Yas Island: “I love all of Sir Bani Yas. Every spot of Sir Bani Yas, I love it.”
