Australia's dairy industry may see export earnings drop by more
than 24 per cent to under A$2 billion (€1.2bn) in 2006-07 because
of drought, potentially causing global prices to rise.
UK dairy co-operative Milk Link has consolidated its position in
the country's cheese market after buying out partner firm Glanbia
from The Cheese Company.
It is not a task for the faint-hearted, but French dairy and food
group Danone has pledged to use more research and development
resources to tackle malnutrition around the world.
French biscuits, water and yoghurt group Danone said yesterday that
it had signed a joint venture with China's leading dairy Mengniu to
cooperate in the production and distribution of fresh dairy
products in China.
Arla UK ended its three-year strategic plan with a three per cent
drop in full year profits, after higher selling prices failed to
save the dairy group from high input costs in the first half.
Tetra Laval's anticipated acquisition of the cheese-making
equipment division of a UK-based firm will not be referred to the
Competition Commission (CC) after the Office of Fair Trading (OFT)
accepted proposals addressing competition...
Scandinavia's Arla Foods has bought nearly a third of Finnish dairy
company Ingman Foods, as consolidation continues to run apace in
the European dairy sector.
Dairy Crest, Britain's largest dairy group, is set to significantly
increase its collection of brands and capture leading market
positions abroad after signing a deal to buy French and Italian
spreads firm St Hubert.
Food manufacturer Unilever has reported a 20 per cent decrease in
third quarter pre-tax profit of 1.12bn, despite bucking the trend
in the European market.
Shanghai-based dairy Bright Dairy has seen a further decline in net
profit for the third quarter but strong yoghurt sales during the
summer season helped it lift operating income by 7.2 per cent.
Russian dairy producer Wimm-Bill-Dann is to continue expanding its
operations in its homeland as it looks to exploit growing markets
in Siberia and the wider Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
region.
International packaging group Rexam will look to sell its PET
bottle facilities in Central and Eastern Europe as part of its
plans to focus on more globally recognised products like plastic
food packaging.
Rows over dairy price fixing allegations in Scotland took another
twist this week, after Arla Foods UK revealed it would sue rival
Robert Wiseman to recoup lost revenue.
Dairy firm Arla Foods Amba has entered into talks with its British
subsidiary to buy out the remaining 49 per cent of the company it
does not already own.
Pressure on UK milk producers may ease off next year, according to
a new supply chain report, which follows new moves to monitor and
improve earnings in the sector.
Fraser & Neave, the Malaysian beverage and glass group, has
signed a RM310 million (67.2m) deal with Nestlé to produce and sell
the Swiss group's liquid milk products in south-east Asia.
Soaring input costs threaten to drag down recovering profit margins
for UK dairy firm Robert Wiseman, highlighting ongoing pressure on
sector earnings.
More multi-million euro fines are to be handed out to EU member
states exceeding their milk quotas this year, highlighting what
some believe is an out-dated system.
Arla Foods UK said it had seen a significant improvement during its
second half, helped on by the sale of underperforming doorstep milk
business to rival Dairy Crest.
Adverts praising Dairy Crest's Country Life butter for being made
in Britain while lambasting brands shipped in from abroad appear to
have paid off for the firm, in another round of branded sales
rises.
Phasing out the milk quota system across the EU will help larger
dairy producers and processors to become more competitive in the
world dairy market, says a new report.
Swiss dairy group Emmi said it would shift all fondue and cheese
production to one factory by 2010, improving efficiency in an
attempt to remain the world's number one fondue maker.
Shares in dairy firm Robert Wiseman have struggled to recover in
recent days after Britain's competition watchdog accused the group
of fixing milk prices in Scotland.
Plans by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to expand the
definition of grass-fed animals, has caused concern in the industry
that the growing market for organic pastured meats could be
undermined by commercial operations.
Ireland's dairy and ingredients giant, Glanbia, reported a dip in
sales and profits for its first half of 2006, stung by cuts to EU
support for the dairy sector.
Australian dairies will drum up A$15 million in funding over the
next three years to support a new innovation centre that will be
tasked with finding ways to better compete with a challenging
marketplace.
Eskimo Pie Corporation, a subsidiary of CoolBrands International,
is to sell its dairy ingredients division to a leading manufacturer
of specialty flavors for the ice cream industry, it emerged last
week.
Sales of Lurpak butter are expected to treble in Australia this
year, according to its maker Arla Foods, highlighting a potential
market 'down under' for luxury dairy brands from Europe.
French dairy firm Lactalis has bought out domestic rival Celia in
its latest move to expand, giving the group a foothold in the
emerging North African dairy market.
Chinese dairy Yili, one of the country's top two, has increased
sales and profits in the first six months of the year despite
rising raw material costs, reinforcing its market share in the
fast-growing dairy sector.
Americans are eating Danish havarti cheese faster than Arla Foods
can make it for them, the firm has said, helping it to build a
better foothold across the Atlantic.
Ice cream and bottled water sales were saved from a rather
disappointing first half in Europe by the heatwave that has swept
across the continent this summer.
Britain's competition watchdog has cleared dairy firm Robert
Wiseman to take over the liquid milk business of rival group Milk
Link, as the industry continues to consolidate.
French food and water giant Danone has built up a war chest of up
to €1bn to spend on acquisitions over the next three to five years,
according to a report.
A boycott across the Middle East on dairy products made by
Denmark's Arla Foods has hit the group's profits in the first of
half of the year, it has announced.
Fresh dairy ingredients and Stilton cheese have helped Britain's
Milk Link to improve both turnover and profit margins over the last
year, the group has said.
UK dairy processor Milk Link will pay farmers more money for their
organic milk from this October as the industry attempts to keep
pace with soaring demand.
Emerging markets and new 'health products' helped Danone to
continue its strong sales growth in the second quarter of 2006,
though the group has struggled to turn around losses on its home
French market.
A €300m investment package will be handed to Ireland's dairy
processing industry over the next three years to help it meet
market challenges that lie ahead, the country's government has
announced.
Yes, that's right. Freshly retired French footballer Zinedine
Zidane may yet be selected to join the board of dairy, water and
biscuit giant Danone, says a report.