• CDI testifies on dairy trade priorities

• Port update

• Harden touts trade at DMI meeting

• Market Summary: GDT prices remain strong
• NZX derivatives to move to Singapore Exchange this month

• USDEC dairy data hub

• Biden letter on Mexican non-tariff barriers

• USDEC hosts Indonesian regulators

• AMS adds new EU certificates

• Brazil lowers dairy tariffs

• Shanghai Costco cheese promo

• More on USDEC farmer mission to MENA

• Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy releases 2020 sustainability report

• COVID update: vaccinations continue

• Company news: Glanbia, Gönenli Süt, Halo Food

 

USDEC-NMPF director testifies before Congress on U.S. dairy trade priorities
Chairman of California Dairies Inc. and USDEC board member Simon Vander Woude, called on Congress to prioritize expanded market access opportunities for U.S. dairy exporters this week at a hearing of the House Subcommittee for Livestock and Foreign Agriculture. The hearing focused on U.S. trade policies and priorities, and in written and oral testimony drafted by USDEC, Vander Woude outlined a series of observations and recommendations.

At the top of that list was the need for expanded access to key markets like China, Southeast Asia, Japan, the Middle East and the UK to allow the United States to catch up with our dairy export competitors whose countries aggressively sought trade deals over the past decade.

“We farmers need a proactive trade policy to keep pace and continue to increase sales to support the good farm and manufacturing jobs our industry creates,” he told the hearing.

“With the administration and Congress having charted progress on many domestic priorities, now is the time for the U.S. government to take a proactive approach to tearing down both tariff and non-tariff trade barriers,” USDEC President and CEO Krysta Harden said in a joint USDEC/NMPF press release on the Vander Woude testimony.

Additional priorities
In addition to his over-arching focus on the urgency of new agreements and market access expansion for U.S. dairy exports, Vander Woude outlined several other priorities in his oral and written testimony, including:

• Fixing supply chain issues that are calling into question the reputation of the United States as a reliable supplier.
  
  
• Enforcing existing trade agreements like USMCA, other FTAs and WTO obligations to preserve hard-won opportunities.

Calls for port action gain momentum, shift narrative
One of the frustrating aspects of media coverage of the port crisis has been the almost single-minded focus on the impact on imports. USDEC continues to work not only to seek solutions to the crisis but also to shift the narrative to highlight to policymakers and the public the steep costs to U.S. dairy and agricultural businesses and the long-term damage it will cause if unresolved.

As part of his testimony this week before the House Subcommittee for Livestock and Foreign Agriculture, Chairman of California Dairies Inc. and USDEC board member Simon Vander Woude outlined the “immense challenges” in export shipping as one of the critical issues facing U.S. dairy suppliers.

In testimony drafted by USDEC, Vander Woude called on Congress to pass the Ocean Shipping Reform Act and for the administration to take further steps to deliver near-term relief to address the supply chain challenges.

Vander Woude’s testimony, which follows Leprino Foods President and CEO Mike Durkin's testimony before a House Committee on Agriculture hearing earlier this month (see Global Dairy eBrief, 11/5/21), make for an effective one-two punch to help shift the media narrative to highlight the damage being done to U.S. agricultural exports rather than just focusing on import delays.

Helping media get the word out
USDEC, CDI and fellow USDEC member Talmera went further to shift the narrative by contributing to the Nov. 14 New York Times piece, “Crunch at ports may mean crisis for American farms” (subscription may be required). While the story addresses the port crisis as a nationwide agricultural problem, dairy is the key focus.

“Are we going to get toys for Christmas? Are we going to get chips for automobiles? We think those are real concerns and they need to be talked about,” Brad Anderson, CEO of California Dairies Inc., told the Times. “What’s not being talked about is the long-term damage being done to exporters in the world market and how that’s going to be devastating to our family farms.”

John Porcari, port envoy for the Biden Administration’s Supply Chain Task Force, said ag exports are a “primary focus” for the administration, and the White House was trying to encourage private sector companies, including ocean carriers, to get the supply chain moving.

Ongoing outreach to the U.S. government
USDEC Executive Vice President for Policy Jaime Castaneda joined members of the Biden Administration’s Supply Chain Task Force late last week in a virtual roundtable to discuss the challenges facing the export industry regarding current supply chain disruptions. Castaneda, picking up on previous USDEC communication with Porcari, shared the dire situation facing U.S. dairy suppliers and the fact that it had worsened, not abated, since USDEC last met with the port envoy.

“These issues warrant the focus of the entire federal government in order to address economic effects on both businesses and consumers from these challenges,” Castaneda said in a USDEC press release on the event. “This discussion was a first positive step which we hope will continue to drive high-level attention to the obstacles affecting U.S. supply chains and exports.”

Outreach to officials and policymakers continues full throttle. USDEC is working with congressional offices on additional outreach to the Biden Administration on the ports crisis and to build support for legislation to help tackle the challenges.

Steps in the right direction
While shipping challenges and delays continue to confront U.S. dairy supplies, industry efforts are yielding some positive steps to ease congestion.

• President Biden endorsed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021—bipartisan legislation that would provide new authority to the Federal Maritime Commission to address unjust and unreasonable practices by ocean carriers. USDEC has been asking the White House for the president’s endorsement and continues to build bipartisan support in Congress for the legislation, which now has more than 70 co-sponsors. (A briefing paper on the legislation is here and a “frequently-asked questions” document compiled by USDEC can be found here.)
  
  
• Last week, the government released “The Biden-Harris Action Plan for America’s Ports and Waterways.” The plan accelerates port infrastructure grant awards and provides federal flexibility around those grants, announce new construction projects for coastal navigation, inland waterways and land ports of entry; and launch the first round of expanded port infrastructure grants funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal.
  
  As part of that plan, the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) announced an effort to identify data constraints that impede the flow of cargo and create supply chain inefficiencies. The initiative will propose recommendations for common data standards used by the international supply chain, as well as policies and protocols that would streamline information sharing. Data sharing and standardization has been a specific request USDEC and supply chain partner the Agriculture Transportation Coalition (AgTC) have called for in previous meetings with officials.
  
  
• California temporarily lifted restrictive truck weight limits, issuing temporary permits for 88,000 lbs. grow vehicle weight (up from 80,000 lbs.). The move is one of several announced by the governor, including opening more commercial drivers’ license testing appointments and signing an agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation to speed up federal infrastructure spending.
  
  
• The FMC is kicking off a second supply chain initiative to facilitate “double moves” for truckers to improve trucker productivity and remove a constant source of conflict over container return, as well as resolve problems with appointment systems and chassis shortages. The FMC will simultaneously work on eliminating earliest return date confusion to remove the ongoing problem of demurrage and detention charges.
  
  
• Individual ports continue to make moves to improve operations, including the Port of Savannah, which opened a rail terminal this week increasing intermodal capacity by 30%, and the Port of Tacoma which began charging for excessive container dwell times at docks starting Nov. 15, following the lead of Los Angeles-Long Beach. The Port of Los Angeles reports that the number of long-dwelling containers fell 19% within a week of announcing its plan to charge such fees, a reaction it considered favorable enough to postpone implementation of the fees by one week.

Editor’s Note: No issue next week
There will be no Global Dairy eBrief next week due to the Thanksgiving holiday. The next issue will publish Dec. 3. Happy Thanksgiving!

DMI panel highlights dairy export opportunities
International markets will continue to present major opportunities for U.S. dairy suppliers well into the future, USDEC President and CEO Krysta Harden told attendees at this week’s Dairy Management Inc. annual meeting in Las Vegas. But no one is going to hand us global market share—the U.S. needs to go out and earn it, and with USDEC’s support companies are well-positioned to do just that.

Harden spoke in her role as moderator for the panel discussion, “International/Export Opportunities for U.S. Dairy.” Also on the panel were Alfiya Thomas, managing director, export sales, Schreiber Foods; Larry Hancock, dairy farmer and chair of USDEC; and Shawna Morris, USDEC and NMPF senior vice president, trade policy.

Hancock enthusiastically discussed the recent USDEC farmer mission to Dubai. He affirmed the value of the mission, noting how worthwhile it was to see USDEC’s work in action, connect with culinary school staff at USDEC’s partner in the region (the International Centre for Culinary Arts), and hear first-hand from buyers. (For more on the mission, see “USDEC Programs” section below.)

The panel explored the type of work USDEC does, why that work is important, how the organization uses partnerships to amplify its initiatives (including USDEC’s longstanding collaboration with NMPF on Trade Policy), and how we support members’ export activities and goals.

 

GDT: prices stay strong but undershoot expectations
Prices rose again at the Nov. 16 Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction, but—for most products—not as much as futures markets were predicting in the lead-up to the event. Demand remains strong and supply uncertainty is acute (initial September EU data suggests a year-over-year monthly decline and U.S. October output fell 0.5% vs. the previous year), but milk powder buyers appeared unwilling to push prices too much higher.

SMP and WMP rose across all contract periods. The average SMP price increased 1.4% to US$3,676/MT, while WMP gained 1.9% to US$3,987/MT. North Asia (China) purchased the highest volume of SMP, but Africa, the Middle East and the EU all ramped up buying vs. the previous auction.

North Asia (China) significantly increased WMP volume compared to the last event (but down from 2020), while the Middle East’s WMP appetite surpassed both previous-auction and previous-year volumes. Southeast Asia stepped back from both WMP and SMP after a strong presence at the Nov. 2 auction.

Cheddar provided one of the biggest surprises, with the average winning price rising 2.2% to US$5,162/MT—after soaring more than 14% to a seven-year high on Nov. 2. Conventional wisdom predicted price moderation this time, but solid demand from Southeast Asia, supplemented by purchasing out of Africa and the Middle East kept the price on boil. Cheddar volume sold at the auction topped the Nov. 2 event.

Supply concerns made butter the other big gainer (+3.5% to US$5,534/MT). North Asia (China) led buyers, with the Middle East also taking a chunk.

Dairy derivatives trading about to kick off on SGX
New Zealand Exchange (NZX) dairy derivatives contracts will migrate to the Singapore Exchange (SGX) on Nov. 27. The two exchanges originally announced their dairy strategic partnership agreement and changeover to SGX trading in April as part of a plan to improve growth and liquidity of the contracts (see Global Dairy eBrief, 4/9/21). The first day of trading on SGX will be Nov. 29.

NZX will migrate open interests in the current NZX dairy derivatives contract suite and open positions in the SGX-DT contracts that replicate the terms of the existing positions to the maximum extent possible.

To view the current NZX specifications and new SGX-NZX specifications, download this document. NZX also developed a regularly updated FAQ on the partnership to answer commonly asked questions. The Nov. 15 version of that FAQ is here.

Check out the USDEC Data Hub
USDEC’s new Data Hub section at usdec.org collects dairy production, pricing, export and import numbers and organizes them into a series of meaningful, interactive tables and graphs for members to investigate trends, plan export strategy and seize global opportunities.

Each week in the newsletter, we will feature one of the Data Hub charts. This week, following the latest GDT auction, we look at the historic highs in New Zealand cheese prices. You can find the graph at the Data Hub under the Dairy Prices tab.

We encourage you to visit the Data Hub and experiment with interactive version of this and other charts, graphs and tables. If you have any questions regarding information, please contact William Loux at wloux@usdec.org.

New Zealand cheddar prices are the highest they’ve been since January 2014.

 

Letter to Biden backs science-based, barrier-free trade with Mexico
USDEC and NMPF co-signed a letter to President Biden urging the administration to take action to ensure that Mexico abides by science-based trade rules. While the letter’s main focus was on Mexico’s restrictive policy toward agricultural biotechnology, USDEC made sure it touched on the broader picture as well: Mexico’s growing tendency to use regulations that are out of step with science (as well as the country’s USMCA and WTO commitments) as trade barriers.

“We underscore the importance of restoring more predictable and USMCA-compliant trading conditions across a range of other agricultural exports that are increasingly burdened by Mexico’s use of unscientific regulatory measures to impede trade,” the letter states. It went on to add: “If Mexico’s actions go unchecked, it could embolden other trading partners to take similar actions.”

USDEC uses multi-pronged approach to restart Indonesian plant registrations
As part of sustained work to prompt Indonesia to resume dairy plant registrations, the Market Access and Regulatory Affairs (MARA) and Trade Policy teams engaged directly with the Indonesian government and the U.S. government with the goal of driving progress in this key market.

As a follow-up to a meeting USDEC’s Trade Policy staff conducted with the Indonesian embassy last month to urge movement on the long-pending facility applications, they and MARA were able to coordinate a visit with some Indonesian government employees from the Indonesian Embassy to a USDEC member manufacturing plant. Indonesia’s approval system has bogged down, with pending applications dating as far back as the first quarter of 2020. USDEC’s Jonathan Gardner, senior vice president, MARA, accompanied the embassy team on the facility visit, which sought to illustrate the regulatory rigors, technology and overall high caliber of U.S. dairy processing operations.

USDEC has been engaging with Indonesia and the U.S. government for some time on the facility approval issue. This direct outreach complements ongoing work to leverage U.S. government assistance in pushing for progress on the stalled applications and in finding a better approach for future applications.

Earlier this month, in a letter to Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi, USDEC and NMPF specifically noted “Indonesia’s glacially slow and unpredictable dairy facility listing process” as one of the U.S. dairy industry’s key trade priorities (see Global Dairy eBrief, 11/5/21, for more on the Bianchi letter).

If you have any questions, please contact Gardner at jgardner@usdec.org or Shawna Morris at smorris@usdec.org.

New EU dairy certificates available in ATLAS Dec. 6
Dedicated work by USDEC’s MARA and Trade Policy Teams helped ensure that the new EU dairy certificates will be available for U.S. dairy exporters in advance of their January implementation.

USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) plans to add the new EU dairy certificates, as well as the associated transit versions of each dairy certificate, to its ATLAS system on Nov. 22, 2021. Additionally, AMS is targeting Dec. 6, 2021, as the date it will begin processing requests to issue the new EU dairy certificates in ATLAS. In addition to the dairy certificates, AMS will also be adding composite related certificates to the ATLAS system sometime after Dec. 6, 2021. For more information see yesterday’s Member Alert, “New EU Dairy Certificates Available for Use in ATLAS Beginning Dec. 6, 2021.”

Addition of the certificates is a huge milestone for which USDEC’s Market Access and Trade Policy Teams have been working aggressively for the last several weeks, with multiple meetings, phone calls and messages with various USDA staff and officials, the USTR’s office and Congress. Those efforts helped ensure that the certificates were issued well ahead of the January implementation date and did not get bogged down and delayed by other sectors’ issues.

Quick recap
All manufacturers that are currently contributing or have the potential to contribute dairy ingredients to non-shelf-stable composite products or shelf-stable composite products containing meat exported to the EU must now register with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be added to the EU-approved plant list. Please note that there is no change to the plant registration requirements for non-composite products using one of the dairy product certificates; the EU will continue to require plants exporting dairy products to the EU to appear on the EU-approved list.

Ensuring registration
USDEC’s Market Access and Trade Policy teams have been working closely with the U.S. government to advocate for a smooth and timely transition to the new plant registration requirements. Given the close proximity of the FDA's Dec. 31, 2021, deadline for registering for the EU list before the new EU certificates' January implementation date, we strongly encourage members to register their facilities with FDA no later than Nov. 30, 2021, due to potential delays in the process.

To be included on the FDA list of registered plants, manufacturers must file an application using the FDA Unified Registration and Listing System (FURLS) Export Listing Module (ELM). ELM users should contact FDA directly with questions regarding the system.

EU transiting products
Inclusion on the FDA's list of EU approved establishments is not necessary for dairy products or ingredients used in products merely transiting through an EU port.

For questions, please contact Bryan Jacoby at bjacoby@usdec.org.

Brazil temporarily lowers certain dairy tariffs
On Nov. 5, Brazil announced a temporary unilateral 10% tariff reduction on 87% of all goods and services imports, including numerous dairy HS Codes, as part of an effort to curb inflation. The move includes WPI (HS 3502.20), lactose (HS 1702.11 and 1702.19), certain cheeses (HS 0406.20, 406.30, 0406.40, 0406.90.30, 0406,90.90 and 0406.10.90) and other dairy products. For a full list of HS Codes and the new tariffs, see the Brazilian government’s Gecex Resolution, No. 269.

The measure will apply until Dec. 31, 2022, but it may become permanent if Mercosur (the Southern Common Market trade bloc) decides to adopt the reductions. The other Mercosur member states besides Brazil (Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) were already discussing a similar measure.

For questions, please contact Oscar Ferrara at oferrara@usdec.org.

Demo training helps drive U.S. cheese sales at Shanghai Costco
The Shanghai Costco store continues to attract massive crowds, making it a fertile location to tell the story of U.S. cheese. From Oct. 29-Nov. 7, about 176,000 Costco members passed through the doors and had the opportunity to taste and learn about U.S. cheeses at the USA Cheese Roadshow in-store promotional event.

This is the third time the Roadshow was held in China, but offered shoppers a different experience this time around. The USDEC promotion event featured a new booth display and, critically, the promoters were the first in China to take the USA Cheese Specialist™ training course for retail promoters.

Prior to the event, Missha Hu from the USDEC China office, trained 10 CDS (Costco Demonstration Services) promoters and four CDS staff, providing information on specific U.S. cheeses on sale and bolstering their knowledge about the U.S. cheese quality, variety, safety, tastes and applications, allowing them to better convey the U.S. cheese story and drive trial and ultimately sales. It is all part of USDEC’s overall cheese goal to get product in the minds and mouths of buyers.

The new booth at the Shanghai Costco before the crowds rolled in.

A CDS promoter passing along U.S. cheese information and samples to a line of shoppers.

Hoard’s highlights farmer mission to MENA, U.S. cheese export growth
Part of USDEC’s ongoing mission is to spread the word among farmer-funders on the value of U.S. dairy exports and what the organization is doing to create a better future for the U.S. dairy sector. That’s why Corey Geiger, managing editor of Hoard’s Dairyman, was invited to join last week’s farmer mission to Dubai (see Global Dairy eBrief, 11/12/21). Geiger’s first piece on the mission, “U.S. doubles cheese sales in major market,” was posted Nov. 15. The piece highlights how USDEC cheese retail activities—including the USA Cheese Guild retail professional training, in-store promotions, and intense relationship building—have helped U.S. cheese suppliers expand business in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA). Before last year’s pandemic-related decline, U.S. cheese exports to MENA grew for three straight years, rising from 16,220 MT to 25,053 MT. Through the first three quarters of 2021, U.S. exports to the region were up 44%, and the U.S. was on pace to recoup most of the 2020 drop-off.

Gulfood Manufacturing draws a crowd; farmer mission generates media coverage
One of the stops for last week’s farmer trade mission to the Middle East was the Gulfood Manufacturing trade show. With the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions, the show marked the first time food and beverage manufacturer representatives could attend a major expo in person since the start of the pandemic.

Gulfood Manufacturing attracted a vibrant crowd, with attendees reconnecting and catching up with one another after a year-and-a-half of virtual contact. Five USDEC members used the booth for meetings with clients throughout the show.

Reports from the booth noted traffic was so heavy and potential buyers so eager to get back to “normal” business and talk U.S. dairy that staff skipped scheduled breaks to continue networking. 

Just after the show ended, USDEC also hosted a U.S. dairy ingredients-focused networking dinner to provide regional trade with additional opportunities to learn and to interact with members who attended.

Mission garners strong MENA media coverage
The farmer mission to Dubai generated strong regional media coverage with stories in 31 online publications and websites with a reach of more than 6 million people.

Digital trade magazine Hotel & Catering News Middle East published an article highlighting the four U.S. dairy farmers who visited the Gulfood Manufacturing show as part of the USDEC farmer mission. See this tweet for a photo from the USDEC booth at Gulfood Manufacturing.

On to Saudi Arabia
That air of celebration and desire to reestablish personal connections carried over to in-person networking events in Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, organized by USDEC this week. Four members attended the sessions, participating as speakers and in one-to-one meetings with potential buyers.

The Riyadh hotel that hosted said it was the first group event since the start of the pandemic. As noted with USDEC’s networking dinner in Egypt in late August (see Global Dairy eBrief, 9/3/21), in-person events like Gulfood Manufacturing and the Saudi Arabian meetings are the kinds of proceedings that build and strengthen relationships, lead to improved market knowledge and are critical to trade in the region.

Demand for dairy ingredients from food and beverage manufacturers in MENA remains high.

 

Report highlights U.S. dairy progress on sustainability
The newly released 2020 U.S. Dairy Sustainability Report from the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy provides a transparent accounting of the progress and impact that the dairy community has made against the U.S. Dairy Stewardship Commitment, the industry’s voluntary pledge to demonstrate positive impacts in environmental sustainability, animal care, community contributions and food safety.

The 32-page report contains a wealth of data, infographics, images and examples of how the U.S. dairy industry has dedicated itself to nourishing a growing global population with responsibly produced dairy foods and beverages. Those efforts (and the demonstrable progress they are making) are increasingly important to a healthy U.S. dairy supply chain, given the growing role sustainability plays in end-user and consumer purchase decisions and given the global movement toward ensuring a sustainable food systems future.

New benchmarking data
The report also shares for the first time nationally-aggregated processor data against Stewardship Commitment metrics. Dairy processors developed and provided ongoing support for a reporting tool to serve as a credible and consistent way to calculate and track sustainability progress. Aggregations on greenhouse gas emissions and water intensity, as well as other sustainability metrics, will serve as a baseline for future reporting.

 

Countries continue to reopen as vaccination rates rise
Key dairy import markets continue to loosen restrictions on foodservice, tourism and movement of their citizens as vaccination rates rise. Globally, many countries still have a long way to go (as vaccination rates below illustrate) and rising case numbers, hospitalizations and deaths in Europe and the United States illustrate how difficult a complete return to “normal” life and business will be.

And even within individual nations, cities/states/provinces might be loosening restrictions while other cities/states/provinces might be tightening them. Vietnam is a prime example, where Ho Chi Minh City allowed dine-in operations at restaurants after a nearly five-month closure. At the same time, Mekong Delta provinces are seeing record daily highs in new cases and locking down.

Vaccination rates
What follows are percentage numbers of the fully vaccinated for key U.S. dairy export markets. For comparison, the U.S. stands at 59% fully vaccinated.

UAE 90%
Singapore 88%
Chile 83%
South Korea 78%
Malaysia 78%
China 77%
Japan 76%
Bahrain 70%
Saudi Arabia 65%
Brazil 61%
Panama 57%
Thailand 54%
Peru 51%
Mexico 50%
Colombia 46%
Taiwan 44%
Vietnam 38% (68% received first shot)
Philippines 37% (but the Metro Manila rate is 91%)
Indonesia 32%
Guatemala 22%
Egypt 13%

Several key export markets have restricted activities for those who are unvaccinated.

Spurring dairy consumption
With improvements in vaccinations, countries are looking to reignite their restaurant and tourism industries and bolster their economies.

South Korea resumed the dine-in portion of its restaurant discount program and plans to restart its tourism discount program. The tourism program was halted last fall as a second COVID wave hit the nation. The restaurant program went online and about US$15 million remains in the budget. Under the restaurant program, the government reimburses foodservice establishments that provide discounts to entice diners.

Japan is considering restarting its “GoTo” campaign, which provides subsidies for travel and dining out. The program was considered a success last year until it was linked to rising COVID case numbers. Japanese restaurants reported an 8% year-over-year decline in sales in September. (USDEC overseas offices in China, Japan, Mexico, the Middle East/North Africa, South America, South Korea, Southeast Asia and Vietnam)

 

Exit from Glanbia Ireland allows Glanbia to focus on global nutrition
Glanbia PLC’s sale of 40% of Glanbia Ireland to Glanbia Co-op will allow the public company to focus on its two growth platforms—Nutritionals and Performance Nutrition—as well as pursue new strategic joint ventures.

Glanbia Ireland was a joint venture between the PLC and the co-op, with Glanbia Co-op owning 60%. The co-op is paying €307 million (about US$351 million) for the outstanding 40%. Half of the funding is coming from selling a chunk of shares in the PLC. Glanbia Co-op owned a 32.4% stake in the PLC; that will drop to 24% after the deal.

The co-op plans to use part of the proceeds from its sale of the PLC shares to create an investment fund to finance acquisitions or other new opportunities. It is working with KPMG to develop a growth strategy.

The co-op said the purchase will provide greater flexibility to support its farmer members. Once the deal is approved, the co-op and Glanbia Ireland will change their names to a new joint identity. Glanbia Ireland CEO Jim Bergin will lead the new organization. (Agriland, 11/15/21; Irish Farmers Journal, 11/10/21; Irish Examiner, 11/10/21; RTE, 11/10/21)

New infant formula, ESL plant slated for Turkey
Turkish dairy contract manufacturer Gönenli Süt is getting into the infant formula business. The company is building a new formula and extended shelf-life (ESL) milk plant in Akhiser, Turkey. The facility, Turkey’s first infant formula manufacturing operation, according to Gönenli Süt, will produce up to 13,800 MT of formula per year. The company did not reveal the new plant’s fluid milk capacity, but did say it expects the facility will be up and running in March 2023. Gönenli Süt plans to service both domestic and export markets from Akhiser. (Company reports; FoodTechBiz, 11/13/21)

Mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures
Brazilian dairy processors Betânia Lacteos and Embaré Indústrias Alimentícias are merging. Together, the two companies handle nearly 5,000 MT of raw milk per day at nine manufacturing plants, producing 220 products sold in 45 nations. . . . Specialist food investor BiaVest has partnered with Development Capital to acquire Irish yogurt maker Nomadic Dairy. . . . (Diário Do Comércio, 10/29/21; FoodBev.com, 11/11/21)

Company news briefs
New Zealand’s Halo Food Co., formerly Keytone Dairy, signed a memorandum of strategic cooperation with Chinese distributor Theland New Cloud (Shanghai) Digimart, a unit of Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba. Under the terms of the deal, Halo will manufacture Theland milk powder products (including WMP, SMP and nutritional powders) for export to China. Halo says the two-year deal is valued at US$38 million. . . . Canada’s Saputo plans to build a US$60-million office, cut-and-wrap and distribution facility in Franklin, Wis. . . . Egypt’s Edita Food Industries plans to launch manufacturing operations in Morocco this month with the opening of a new cake production facility. The Moroccan venture is part of the company’s regional expansion ambitions. (USDEC Middle East/North Africa office; Company reports; DairyReporter.com, 11/11/21; Business Journal, 11/7/21)

 

• Article in Hoard’s Dairyman highlights growth in U.S. cheese sales at Dubai retailer
• Four U.S. dairy farmers visit Gulfood Manufacturing Show and other important venues
• 22 chefs from Dubai participate in USA Cheese Specialist Certification Program
• U.S. dairy farmer proudly holds Wisconsin cheese that she found on sale at a supermarket in Dubai
• U.S. dairy farmers promote U.S. cheese in the Middle East