International is natural
Another buyout this week, this one in Australia. Again, the cheese businesses are on the move, and one suspects Saputo’s purchase of Lion Dairy’s everyday cheese business is partially a ruse to get its hands on the accompanying whey the cheese process will output. With growth being seen by dairy ingredients giants such as Glanbia, Royal FrieslandCampina and Fonterra, it is no wonder that cheese makers are working towards getting as much supply as possible, no matter where in the world it occurs. To get a decent cheese business is also a nice bonus for the multinationals.
Meanwhile, here in the UK, Parliament has delivered recommendations for ensuring a sustainable and competitive future for the British dairy industry, via the Dairy All-Party Parliamentary Group. It discusses how the whole dairy chain has to work together in the new post-quota era, and the group was revived last year to discuss where the industry is going. But in most cases, the industry is already gone forward, with smaller British firms going great guns for export and the whole of Scotland and Wales looking to brand themselves separate to the rest of Britain.
I do wonder if this group is busy putting its shoes on while the rest of the dairy world is already down the track – you only have to look across the Irish Sea to witness Glanbia’s millions spent in advance of the quotas ending, or catch a glimpse of the endless videos and information promoting Ireland as a dream dairy source of supply, to wonder this. Should British dairy have moved earlier to capture more of the market, or is there still plenty of time and space to grab a big niche? It’s all well and good to talk about what should happen with dairy, but the government so far has shown no sign of supporting dairy in the manner of the Irish government. This is a shame.
