Egypt: venue for the 2016 Global Dairy Farmers congress

The dairy industry in Egypt is developing over the last years and there is a growing demand for quality (packed) milk products, as this category seems to be less impacted by the poor economic conditions, as it is a basic necessity, unlike many other products. Another trend in Egypt is the growing demand for added value ‘healthy’ dairy products.

Due to unawareness of the health benefits of drinking milk and increasing prices of milk, the milk sector is challenging. However, the health-consciousness of yoghurt products is on the rise and cheese is regarded as a basic necessity and therefore these categories are expected to have a positive performance in the years to come.

According to the World Dairy Situation report (published by the International Dairy Federation), Egypt produced 4,439 (x 1,000 tonnes) milk in 2015. This is 0.7% of the worldwide milk production. Buffalo milk production is around 1,072 (x 1,000 tonnes), which corresponds to 1.0% of the global buffalo milk volume. According the report, Egypt has almost 4 million dairy cows, over 1 million buffalos. There are 580,673 dairy farms in Egypt. Looking at the previous years, we see an increase in the dairy milk production (especially between 2013 and 2014). The production of buffalo milk has gone down. This is also reflected in the increased number of dairy cattle between 2013 and 2015 and less buffaloes.

Juhayna: leading in Egypt

The main dairy processors in Egypt are Juhayna Food Industries, Lactalis, Dompty, Greenland Group and Danone. Juhayna was founded in Egypt in 1983. The company produces dairy products and juices, exporting to the Middle East, US, and European markets. Juhayna’s market share amounts to around 70% in the milk market, about 33% for yogurt, and roughly 26% for juices. Juhayna is partner of Global Dairy Farmers and inviting company for the congress. They build on their market and international relations and recently started a joint venture with Arla from Denmark. In the Daily News Egypt it was stated that Juhayna estimated the sales of its joint project with the Danish dairy producer at about €100m by the year 2020, according to Safwan Thabet, Chairman and CEO of Juhayna. Juhayna invests in the dairy supply chain with setting up their own dairy farms with out of the art technology and investing in good management and animal welfare. In this way they are able to guarantee high quality milk supply to their factories and contribute to the local economy and growing demand for dairy products. This large Egypt dairy processor has 4,610 employees and a revenue of over 430 million Euro.

Jibneh Arabieh, a soft white cheese that is found all over the Middle East. It is popular in Egypt and the Arabian Gulf area.

Challenges for Egypt dairy farmers

The growth of the dairy industry in Egypt is a good thing, but also comes with challenges for the dairy farmers in Egypt to upgrade their production in a controlled way. With this trend, also questions arise how dairy farmers in this country can cooperate in such a way that it steps up their farm profitability as well as adding value for dairy processors. And is the current way of farming good enough to grow in volume and quality? It is also important to know whether smaller farmers are able to profit from the growing Egyptian dairy industry as well, or are only the bigger farmers the ones that can yield from the current developments. To find out more about these challenges and how to deal with them, the international network for dairy farmers and industry – Global Dairy Farmers – organizes it upcoming GDF Congress in Egypt, on February 17-23, 2016. The central theme is: Vertical Integration in the Supply Chain. This is a great opportunity for farmers around the world to get involved in the GDF network and learn from colleague dairy farmers and dairy industry people.

Why join the GDF Congress?

• The congress brings high level speakers explaining about the emerging Egyptian dairy market. What are the new opportunities and how does this change the market and relations?

• Attendees can learn how to cooperate within the dairy chain. How can dairy farmers cooperate in such a way that it creates both added value for dairy processors as well as for the dairy farmers? And what does good farm management entail?

• The congress also organizes farm visits and discussions with local farmers. Which role do these local dairy farmers see for themselves in this process and can they join and profit from this development? A visit is organized to the new Enmaa dairy farm with over 1,500 cows and advanced technologies, but also family operated buffalo farms.

• The congress delves deeper in the question: How to farm in challenging conditions? How do the farmers and industry deal with the challenging environment and restrictions including the climate, water scarcity and politics?

•And last but not least, the congress is a great opportunity to experience some cultural highlights, including a visit to the Egyptian pyramids, the Egyptian museum and the old city center.

For more information and registration, please visit the website of GDF.