Arla launches new packaging facility in Ghana

In response to growing demand for nutritious dairy products in Sub-Saharan Africa, Arla is setting up a new sales and packaging facility in Accra, Ghana.

The facility will supply products from its Dano range also sold in Nigeria, including powdered milk, which is rising in popularity among the rapidly growing middle class in urban areas, and butter and cheese from value-added brands like Arla and Lurpak.

The move by Arla supports the company’s business strategy Good Growth 2020, which aims to develop new markets for Arla’s products outside the EU to improve the milk price for the 11,200 farmer-owners who own the company. As part of its strategy, Arla aims to triple its revenue in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2020.

Steen Hadsbjerg, vice president of Arla’s business region in Sub-Saharan Africa, comments, “Ghana is a well-developed food market in West-Africa, where Arla has a lot to offer consumers.

“More families in the growing middle-class are increasingly demanding safe and affordable nutrition, and West-Africa currently faces a milk deficit, which gives Arla an opportunity to provide dairy products that meet the consumers’ needs.”

The new subsidiary in Ghana will manage a re-packaging facility in Tema Industrial Park close to Accra as well as marketing of the products; the facility is currently being built.

Hadsbjerg adds, “We are entering Ghana to build a long-term business, and that requires strong, local partners. We are therefore pleased to join with an experienced partner with a strong distribution network in the country.”