Namibia Dairies is set to move the production and packaging of its Nammilk Full Cream and Low-Fat Ultra-high temperature (UHT) milk ranges from South Africa to its Avis Factory in Windhoek, as of this month.
The development will also see the current brick packaging phased out and the Prisma packaging reintroduced.
“As a result of the good rains and increased raw milk supply locally, we are excited to bring our hormone-free, high-quality UHT products home again. As a proud O&L subsidiary that has been in existence since 1997, our objective is to ensure that the business can profitably produce, package, and distribute UHT milk to the highest standards and the best quality, with no change in the current cost to the consumer,” Namibia Dairies Managing Director (MD), Leonie Prinsloo.
The move by the Ohlthaver & List Group owned company, comes after it outsourced the production of its UHT milk to South Africa in November 2020, citing the reduction in local raw milk supply, a development which compelled the business to fill the shortfall that threatened its sustainability.
“The improved circumstances, along with the continued objective to maximise the capacity of the local plant and focus on quality throughout the value chain, positively impacted the decision to move our UHT milk production back to Namibia and ensure the full capitalisation of the value chain,” Prinsloo said.
Namibia Dairies, including the !Aimab Superfarm, is one of Namibia’s biggest dairy producers and has been severely impacted by the ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ailing economy.
“Increased input costs had put severe strain on the business and further encouraged the need for rationalisation and restructuring to ensure its sustainability.”
In April Namibia Dairies was forced to withdraw certain batches of its Nammilk Fresh Milk range after a quality test conducted by the company indicated that the product’s shelf-life was inadequate.
