CCPC okays Diamondale takeover
VIRGIN Dairy Ltd ( VDL) has been granted unconditional authorisation, by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), to proceed with the acquisition of the Diamondale Dairy Business from Galaunia Farms Ltd, company Chief Executive Officer Ngenda Mwikisa has said.
In a press statement to Daily Nation Newspaper, Mr Mwikisa said VDL plans to scale-up milk production at the Diamondale Dairy facility to 30, 000 litres of milk per day in an effort to meet the existing deficit of milk and milk equivalent dairy products on the Zambian market. He said government recently effected tariff increments on a range of imported dairy based products in an effort to increase the competitiveness of local dairy farmers. “This intervention by Government is a welcome move that will help grow the local dairy industry. According to the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, Zambia’s current per capita of milk consumption stands at 20 litres. The recommended per capita consumption of milk by the World Health Organisation ( WHO) is at least 100 litres or 250mls per person per day,” emphasised Mwikisa. He added that VDL has risen to the challenge and has hence initiated a milk campaign promoting the health benefits of milk consumption, and is in the process of setting-up an online platform via its foundation where people anywhere in the world can make donations towards the purchase of milk for children suffering from malnutrition. He expressed optimism that the milk donations will reach disadvantaged youth in schools and hospitals that cannot afford it. “VDL believes that commercial enterprise is the means through which potential benefits of the dairy industry in Zambia can be unlocked. Over time, with increased skills training, small-scale farmers clustered in co-operatives within proximity to the market, will feed into value chains of commercial enterprises by supplying quality produce consistently, thereby growing the dairy industry further,” advised Mwikisa. He said VDL expects to complete the full take-over of the Diamondale Dairy Farm by September 2019, while co-currently pursuing its long-term goal of setting-up a much larger dairy operation upon acquiring the targeted Chiawa Estate Farm in the Lower-Zambezi.