The global spread
Ornua’s opening of a plant in Nigeria for its Kerrygold packing facilities shows that a look at markets outside what we normally consider “emerging” can yield benefits. Nigeria is home to 260 million people, which is only 40 million fewer than the population of the US. It is a dairy-friendly place, and Ireland’s dairy products have a good story to tell the local populace, as well as providing quality products to them. Nigeria also is one of the top three importers of powdered milk products in Africa.
That being said, it should also be noted that while the export of European products is a good thing, it is also a benefit to the local economy to improve domestic dairy production in such countries. Which is, I am happy to say, is happening in places such as India and Bangladesh. In some ways, the modern method of dairy production is moving towards being less of a “let’s make it and sell it to them” process, and more of a “how can we best utilise the local dairy output?” and “how can we spread the knowledge of how to provide safe and healthy dairy?” It is something that we as the dairy industry are realising more, but it is a fine balance between the competing ideas.
