Zimbabwe ‘s dairy
farmers are calling on the
government to take “drastic
action” to boost local
production and cut down on
or ban foreign imports.
More than 60% of
milk imports come
from South
Africa, with
Zimbabwean
traders
losing out
on US$6
million
worth of
potential
revenue
said Daryl
Archibald,
director of local
Zimbabwean milk producer,
Dendairy.
“Government has a
duty to create an enabling
environment for the dairy
industry’s revival and curb
the f looding of imported
milk into our local market,”
he said. He suggested a stiff
import duty on milk imports
as one of the measures to
level the playing field. “At
the moment Zimbabwean
consumers are paying less
for South African milk than
they are for locally produced
milk as it costs us more to
produce the milk,” he
commented.
AllAfrica.com
reported
earlier this
month that
smallholder
dairy farmers
in the Mutasa
Honda Valley
had added their
voice to that of the
larger producers saying
that the local dairy industry
was currently operating at
45% capacity, producing
only 51 million litres per
annum to meet the local
demand of 120 million
litres.
A lack of dairy cows is one
of the reasons production is
so low, Glen Folwell of the
Zimbabwe Association of
Dairy Farmers told FTW.
“The current national herd
stands at 5.3 million heads
of cattle, but only 0.05% of
those are dairy cows,” he said.
In a statement, the
Zimbabwean minister of
Agriculture, Mechanisation
and Irrigation, Paddy
Zhanda, said government
would not put a blanket
ban on milk imports
but that it was working
with stakeholders to find
solutions to protecting local
industry and boosting local
production.
CAPTION
Zimbabwe only has 26 502 dairy cows but a herd of 70 000
is needed to produce enough milk for local demand.
