Dairy Program > Highlights

DAIRY PROCESSORS TO FORM REGIONAL ASSOCIATION

For the first time ever, key players from the dairy sector in the region came together in Nairobi to address issues affecting trade and to explore ways of developing a vibrant, integrated and cohesive regional dairy industry. This inaugural Regional Executive Dairy Summit and Trade Policy Conference was held in Nairobi from the 5th to 7th of October 2004 under the auspices of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa COMESA) and the East African Community (EAC), in collaboration with RATES and the Eastern & Central Africa Programme for Agricultural Policy Analysis (ECAPAPA). The summit and conference brought together over 120 top dairy executives, regulators and policy makers from 12 countries (Ethiopia, Egypt, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe) all of which combined account for over 80% of the regions’ trade in dairy products.

The Executive Summit. The deliberations revealed that there was a substantial and untapped regional market potential upwards of US$ 120 million per year and, if the growth dynamics of per capita milk consumption were to be realized, even greater trade opportunities could be possible. To reinforce the potential for increased intra-regional trade, delegates were informed that over 95% of the COMESA and EAC dairy product imports were from outside of the region and of this, 80% were sourced from Denmark, South Africa, Canada, USA, France, New Zealand, Australia, Netherlands and Poland. It was also noted that intra-regional trade has been very limited due to a mix of high tariffs and non-tariff barriers meant to protect national sectors, in spite of all participating countries (South Africa excluded) being signatories to both COMESA and EAC protocols that call for a more liberalized trade regime. The delegates therefore resolved to work together to increase the volume and value of intra-regional trade while reducing dependence on extra-regional imports with forward trading, contract packing, franchising, a trading website and integrated supply networks being singled out as likely resolved to form a regional dairy processors association to promote the sector's interests. An interim committee was appointed with Mr. Mahul Shah and Mr. Fred Osore of Kenya being elected interim chairman and secretary respectively. The other members were drawn from Malawi (Philip Msindo), Mauritius (Indra Thanacody), Rwanda (Innocent Rutamu), Tanzania (DM Mmari), Uganda (John Anglin) and Zambia (Sandress Nyirenda). The committee was mandated to chart the association’s way and prepare a ‘brief’ on its structure and mission and then submit to the respective national associations for review.

The Policy Conference. The trade policy conference component, while including private sector participants, attracted wide interest from the public sector encompassing representatives from ministries of agriculture and trade, animal health departments, bureau of standards, dairy boards and other regulators.

The conference agreed on the following key areas:

• Removal of all import controls and restrictions, aside from the need to comply
  with SPS and food safety requirements;
• Eliminating tariffs on agricultural commodities;
• Harmonizing non-tariff charges on dairy with a view to their eventual elimination;
• Developing regionally harmonized dairy product quality standards based on
  international standards which should eventually replace existing national
  standards, including the introduction of national marks of quality which should be
  recognized at regional levels;
• Building capacity for exchange of information among animal health departments
  and facilitating mutual recognition of other certification processes;
• Recognizing the importance of informal milk trade and taking measures to
  facilitate and mainstream this trade into the formal sector;
• Improving capacity utilization in dairy processing which currently runs below 50%
  for most countries through innovative industry partnerships and alliances.

Previous page

top