Lush coastal belt offers the optimum conditions

Sundale dairy CEO Pierre van Rensburg attributes the firm’s recent market growth to positive developments in EC milk production which has stimulated downstream valueadding processes.

“It’s quite an exciting space for the province; there’s something happening — we’ve got the biggest dairy factories and probably the biggest dairy farmers producing a lot of SA’s milk.”

Part of the EC growth has been driven by a dairy farming preference for the mild climate associated with the coastal belt, its adequate rainfall and sufficient land for grazing. These conditions showed up the inefficiency inherent in inland dairy production.

The mainly Jersey free-range cows feed mostly on the lush cultivated pastures of the coastal belt, rather than on dry grains or pellets. This results in milk rich in omega-3 fatty acids and beta carotene, which also add to the colour and taste of the cheeses which are produced in the factory.

Sundale is the third-biggest dairy in the province. But Van Rensburg says it is a constant struggle to stay one step ahead of competitors on quality and speed to market, providing what customers want, maintaining “the balance between what customers can afford to pay for a product and what we can afford, to pay our suppliers and reinvest in the business”.

The biggest challenge was envisioning not just the next year, but the next five, when one could not see beyond the next week.

Moving into the world-class EL IDZ manufacturing environment a decade ago was also a boon to the business.

The product range from the IDZ factory includes milks, yoghurts, maas, butter, cream, cream cheese and a dairy-fresh juice blend.

In Braelyn, 200 tons of cheese are cut and packed every month. But, while he says the country can produce much more dairy than it does, he laments the government’s failure to secure international market access for SA dairy producers, which he says hampers industry growth.

A strong European dairy farmers’ lobby has kept the door shut on imports into the EU. And even the US and Brics — Brazil, Russia, India and China — markets are out of bounds.

There is nothing wrong with the quality of SA’s dairy products.

And SA is among the five lowest-cost milk producers in the world.

However, says Van Rensburg, the local industry must lobby rhw government to press for international markets to open up, to drive growth.

Apart from “a stable, safe place where things work,” there is not much else that he expects from the government.

“I don’t think the government has to do a lot — I’m a businessman, leave that to us. Create an enabling environment in which we can produce.”

I don’t think the government has to do a lot — I’m a businessman, leave that to us. Create an enabling environment in which we can produce