Harare – ProDairy, a subsidiary of the Innscor Africa Group increased its volumes by 70 percent in the first six months ending 31 December, 2018 as the company’s backward intergration strategy into milk production through Mafuro Farming paid dividends.
As a result, the Group recorded an improved raw milk intake during the period under review, consequently pushing volumes to greater heights.
Last year, Prodairy embarked on plant and equipment upgrade amounting to at least $7 million so as to realise its potential capacity of three million litres per month from 1 million litres in 2016. President Emmerson Mnangagwa subsequently commissioned the $7 million milk processing plant in Ruwa in October last year.
During the course of 2018, the Group also entered a $1.6 million heifer import scheme partnership with foreign private equity firm Subsahara Capital and Sean Webster, a consultant to boost its Mafuro Farming project.
Before the investments drive, the factory was operating at 55 percent capacity due to low raw milk supply and the heifer import scheme was seen as significant factor to increase operating capacity to 75 percent by 2018 year end.
In a statement accompanying the overall Innscor Group half year financial results, Chairman Addington Chinake said the introduction of new products and innovations resulted in improved market share for the Prodairy unit and he expressed optimism over its growth prospects going forward.
“The introduction of new products and innovations such as UHT dairy blend, and the launch of the “Revive” UHT maheu offering, resulted in good market share penetration during the period, and continued volume growth is expected in the second half of the financial year,” he said.
The country’s milk output has averaged between 45 million and 60 million litres of milk per year in the past few years, a figure still far below the national demand of 120 million litres of milk per annum.
In 2018, the dairy sector surpassed government’s annual estimates, rising by 13.61% to 75.42 million litres in 2018 compared to 66.38 million litres reported in 2017.
Prodairy is one of the big three dairies in the country after Dairibord and Dendairy.
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