Namibia Dairies aiming for profit

AS difficulties continue to plague the local dairy industry, Namibia Dairies has decided to merge its Rehoboth and Gobabis outlets with the Windhoek depot in a streamlining bid to ensure viability.

Namibia Dairies’ holding company, the Ohlthaver & List Group (O&L), this week said the Rehoboth and Gobabis depots’ assets and infrastructure will be moved to the Windhoek depot, and a network system will be put in place so that customers will be served through the Windhoek depot. The company expects the merger to be in effect by December 31.Namibia Dairies has seven other depots around the country, and one in Lubango.According to recent reports, Namibia Dairies has been making losses of around N$1 million per month.Namibia Dairies Managing Director Desmond van Jaarsveld said his company was an important player in the dairy sector and such a move was necessary for its survival.”A positive turnaround strategy has been implemented at Namibia Dairies aimed at achieving an efficient and cost-effective distribution network,” reiterated O&L spokesperson Patrick Hashingola.Ten people will be retrenched as a result of the process.The company employs 465 staff.The Namibian dairy industry has in recent years suffered a slump and been under pressure and facing severe challenges, mainly due to an influx of cheap imports of dairy products from South Africa.With this latest move, Namibia Dairies seeks to “improve its business processes and structures so as to ensure its economic viability and ability to further sustain the country’s dairy industry”, the company says.The Dairy Producers’ Association (DPA) has called for drastic measures to be put in place to save the local industry.Some of these rescue efforts would include the Government implementing the Angola-Namibia Bilateral Agreement, removing VAT on fresh and long-life milk and putting in place anti-dumping and fair competition laws.Namibia Dairies produces around 26 million litres of milk and fruit juice a year and has a majority market share of over 50 per cent of all product categories.Earlier this year, O&L announced a major restructuring and streamlining exercise whose main objective is to make the group’s subsidiaries more profitable and financially sustainable.The company expects the merger to be in effect by December 31.Namibia Dairies has seven other depots around the country, and one in Lubango.According to recent reports, Namibia Dairies has been making losses of around N$1 million per month.Namibia Dairies Managing Director Desmond van Jaarsveld said his company was an important player in the dairy sector and such a move was necessary for its survival.”A positive turnaround strategy has been implemented at Namibia Dairies aimed at achieving an efficient and cost-effective distribution network,” reiterated O&L spokesperson Patrick Hashingola.Ten people will be retrenched as a result of the process.The company employs 465 staff.The Namibian dairy industry has in recent years suffered a slump and been under pressure and facing severe challenges, mainly due to an influx of cheap imports of dairy products from South Africa.With this latest move, Namibia Dairies seeks to “improve its business processes and structures so as to ensure its economic viability and ability to further sustain the country’s dairy industry”, the company says.The Dairy Producers’ Association (DPA) has called for drastic measures to be put in place to save the local industry.Some of these rescue efforts would include the Government implementing the Angola-Namibia Bilateral Agreement, removing VAT on fresh and long-life milk and putting in place anti-dumping and fair competition laws.Namibia Dairies produces around 26 million litres of milk and fruit juice a year and has a majority market share of over 50 per cent of all product categories.Earlier this year, O&L announced a major restructuring and streamlining exercise whose main objective is to make the group’s subsidiaries more profitable and financially sustainable.