William Lynskey, director of sales at Miami-based Tropical Foods, had a straightforward message to other U.S. dairy suppliers worried about the perceived level of difficulty of doing business in the Middle East: "If you're looking for the easy road to success in dairy export, you're not going to find it. If you want easy, stick to jelly beans."

Lynskey and representatives from 17 other U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) members are in Dubai this week for the annual Gulfood show, one of the largest food exhibitions in the world. The companies showcased their products and services at the USDEC booth, meeting face to face with existing and potential new customers to lay the groundwork for growth in a key region.

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USDEC asked a handful of attendees why they made the trip and what they thought about doing business in the region.

Their answers were upbeat but realistic. Lynskey again: "Every market is unique and has its own set of challenges." But given the region's size and growing dairy appetite, the Middle East is "a market . . . that simply cannot be ignored." (See video below for more.)

A must for The Next 5%

Indeed, the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region is critical to U.S. dairy industry efforts to increase annual exports from the equivalent of about 15 percent of milk solids produced to 20 percent.

Last year, MENA imported 1.2 million metric tons of milk powder, cheese, butterfat and whey. While outlooks vary from nation to nation, all signs suggest that the region's overall dairy imports will continue to rise over the long-term led by countries like Egypt, Iran, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. USDEC projects demand for cheese and ingredients will increase MENA dairy imports by 250,000 metric tons from 2016-2021.

Populations are growing, and the middle class is expanding. Economic projections are looking brighter than they have for the past three years, buoyed by the recovery in oil prices in the back half of 2017.

Dairy consumption continues to rise along with greater adoption of Western culture, which drives demand for cheese for foodservice and butterfat for industrial use. The region's limited resources will restrict the domestic industry's ability to meet demand.

It all adds up to more dairy imports.

Elevated U.S. presence

U.S. dairy suppliers have an opportunity to take part in that expansion, but the competition from Europe and Oceania is stiff. The United States lost dairy import share in the region over the last three years, in part due to unfavorable pricing.

USDEC and U.S. suppliers know that in order to reach The Next 5%, the industry will have to turn that trend around. One key way is to elevate the U.S. presence in the region.

This year's Gulfood—as well as expanded capabilities at USDEC's Middle East office (stay tuned for more on that in the coming days)—are a start. The joint objective for Gulfood was multidimensional: demonstrate the U.S. dairy industry's expertise, innovation capacity and willingness to partner with customers, meet face to face with potential buyers in the retail, foodservice and food manufacturing sectors to underscore the U.S. commitment to the region, and begin to develop the type of relationships that are so critical to MENA business.

Luke Waring is manager of communications and membership at the U.S. Dairy Export Council. 

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The U.S. Dairy Export Council fosters collaborative industry partnerships with processors, trading companies and others to enhance global demand for U.S. dairy products and ingredients. USDEC is primarily supported by Dairy Management Inc. through the dairy farmer checkoff. The password-protected article above is intended for USDEC member organizations only and should not be shared with anyone outside your organization.