Milk price UP by 50c

THE dairy industry has come up with a solution expected to bring short-term relief to farmers by increasing the price of fresh milk by 50 cents a litre from April 1.

This has not gone down well with consumers. This move comes after The Namibian broke the story that Namibia Dairies was mulling a 50-cent milk price hike after the Dairy Producers’ Association (DPA) called for an increase to save the beleaguered industry.”We have paid heed to the plight of the milk producers and the continuation of numerous jobs in that sector.The price aims to benefit the suppliers as the full 50 cents is passed on to the suppliers,” said Namibia Dairies Managing Director Desmond van Jaarsveld.The increase will see dairy farmers getting N$3 from every box of milk sold.The dairy industry has been under siege for the past couple of years due to an influx of cheap milk products – especially long-life milk – from South Africa, which has left local producers out in the cold and in financial doldrums.The country’s sole dairy, Namibia Dairies, announced that the increase would boost the producers who are currently facing collapse as a result of competition and high feed and transport costs, among other factors.Predictions had been made by the DPA itself that the industry could go bust by April if the price of raw milk was not increased.Although consumers consider 50 cents per litre as a drastic increase, this is a small reprieve for the dairy producers.Talking to The Namibian on the phone yesterday, DPA Chairman Japie Engelbrecht said the increase was welcome and gave producers hope.”This is a small step towards saving the industry.We will take it, but this is not enough and we have mentioned this to Namibia Dairies.At this stage, we hope for the best,” he said.Engelbrecht said despite this being hard on the consumers, his association hoped for a further price hike around mid-year.”My heart bleeds for the consumers…but you have to look at other factors and the output of dairy farmers,” he said, adding that his association was aware of the negative impact the price increase will have on inflation.Since 2004, Namibia’s dairy industry has been battling to survive and attempts have been suggested to help rescue the industry, which include proposing to the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) to put a levy of 40 per cent on the price of imported UHT (long-life) milk.This request is still under consideration.At the moment there are only 17 dairy farmers, approximately 2 920 cows and 211 workers in Namibia, producing an average of 1,7 million litres of milk per month.Van Jaarsveld concurred that more needed to be done to help the industry, adding that it was very likely that more dairy farmers would go under.”Unfortunately the consumer has to pay more, but we have sustain the Namibian dairy industry and more protection measures should be in place soon,” he said.The Minister of Trade and Industry, Immanuel Ngatjizeko, this month said that the dairy industry was on the verge of collapse due to unscrupulous dealings, and called on the retail sector to support the local industry and Government’s policy on manufacturing.This move comes after The Namibian broke the story that Namibia Dairies was mulling a 50-cent milk price hike after the Dairy Producers’ Association (DPA) called for an increase to save the beleaguered industry.”We have paid heed to the plight of the milk producers and the continuation of numerous jobs in that sector.The price aims to benefit the suppliers as the full 50 cents is passed on to the suppliers,” said Namibia Dairies Managing Director Desmond van Jaarsveld.The increase will see dairy farmers getting N$3 from every box of milk sold.The dairy industry has been under siege for the past couple of years due to an influx of cheap milk products – especially long-life milk – from South Africa, which has left local producers out in the cold and in financial doldrums.The country’s sole dairy, Namibia Dairies, announced that the increase would boost the producers who are currently facing collapse as a result of competition and high feed and transport costs, among other factors.Predictions had been made by the DPA itself that the industry could go bust by April if the price of raw milk was not increased.Although consumers consider 50 cents per litre as a drastic increase, this is a small reprieve for the dairy producers.Talking to The Namibian on the phone yesterday, DPA Chairman Japie Engelbrecht said the increase was welcome and gave producers hope.”This is a small step towards saving the industry.We will take it, but this is not enough and we have mentioned this to Namibia Dairies.At this stage, we hope for the best,” he said.Engelbrecht said despite this being hard on the consumers, his association hoped for a further price hike around mid-year. “My heart bleeds for the consumers…but you have to look at other factors and the output of dairy farmers,” he said, adding that his association was aware of the negative impact the price increase will have on inflation.Since 2004, Namibia’s dairy industry has been battling to survive and attempts have been suggested to help rescue the industry, which include proposing to the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) to put a levy of 40 per cent on the price of imported UHT (long-life) milk.This request is still under consideration.At the moment there are only 17 dairy farmers, approximately 2 920 cows and 211 workers in Namibia, producing an average of 1,7 million litres of milk per month.Van Jaarsveld concurred that more needed to be done to help the industry, adding that it was very likely that more dairy farmers would go under.”Unfortunately the consumer has to pay more, but we have sustain the Namibian dairy industry and more protection measures should be in place soon,” he said.The Minister of Trade and Industry, Immanuel Ngatjizeko, this month said that the dairy industry was on the verge of collapse due to unscrupulous dealings, and called on the retail sector to support the local industry and Government’s policy on manufacturing.