Prabhat Dairy to expand exports to Gulf region

The Dollar Business Bureau

Prabhat Dairy, one of India's leading milk food processing brands, is planning to expand its supply operations in the Gulf region. It's participation in Gulfood 2017, held at the Dubai World Trade Centre, from February 26 – March 2, is key to the beginning of its exports to countries like UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The world's largest annual trade event in food industry is likely to help Prabhat Dairy rope in some international clients from Dubai and surrounding areas, kickstarting its operations in the Gulf region. The dairy giant with an elaborate distribution network across India sees immense potential in exports to Saudi Arabia, as the country imports close to 70% of its dairy needs. According to latest trade reports, in 2015, Saudi Arabia was the 10^th largest importer of dairy products and UAE was the 15^th largest, contributing 2.7% ($2 billion) and 1.9% ($1.4 billion) to net world milk product imports respectively.

Prabhat Dairy aims to become a leading supplier of premier cheese and other milk products in the region through effective marketing channels. "Last year, we exported our products to a few countries and we have been getting a good response," Vivek Nirmal, Joint Managing Director, Prabhat Dairy said.

With a strong ambition to establish itself as a dominant player in the food industry overseas, Nirmal said that the vast youthful population, robust purchasing power, and the rapidly expanding food retail and manufacturing sector presents a big opportunity. Gulfood 2017 is expected to be a big propelling force for Prabhat Dairy's international goals.

India accounts for merely 0.5% of the world dairy exports, which stood at $346 million in 2015. Germany is the largest exporter of milk in the world with its milk shipping touching US$1.3 billion in 2015, accounting for 17.4% of total milk exports.