Zimbabwe: Dairy industry under threat

Source: Dairy industry under threat -Newsday Zimbabwe RISING costs, which are accounting for 70% of total expenses, are threatening the sustainability of Zimbabwe’s dairy industry, NewsDay Business has learnt. The cost of feed stock largely accounts for total expenses. Zimbabwe Association of Dairy Farmers (ZADF) chief executive officer, Paidamoyo Chadoka said local dairy products were uncompetitive due high production costs, which has resulted in cheap dairy products from neighbouring countries, particularly South Africa, flooding the market. “Zimbabwe lacks competitiveness due to the unsustainably high cost of production compared to regional counterparts,” she said. “Our cost of production is mainly driven by stock feeds costs, labour and cost of power, critical components which are too high when compared to other countries. “The producer price of milk per litre in Zimbabwe averages US$0,60 compared with an average price of US$0,40 per litre in South Africa, US$0,36 in Zambia, ...