HARARE: A fast growing dairy processor owned by Zimbabwe’s First Lady Grace Mugabe recently launched a new line of ice creams and chocolates as it expands business to cement its foothold in the country’s dairy industry.
Launched three years ago, Alpha Omega Dairy has risen to become one of the country’s largest dairy processor with a 30 percent share of the local market. The company, situated in Mazowe about 30 km north east of Harare, also produces milk, yoghurt and fruit juice.
The First Family own the Gushungo Dairy Estate which also used to supply dairy milk to Nestle Zimbabwe a few years ago. According to the company’s general manager Stanley Nhari, the company is thriving against a background of hostile media publicity and economic environment.
“The company has been receiving local and international negative publicity and closed lines of credit, but it has managed to turn threats and challenges into opportunities,” he said. The company was on Friday presented with the ISO 22000 of 2005 certification by the Standards Association of Zimbabwe.
Alpha Omega business expansion comes at a time when Zimbabwe’s dairy industry has suffered from decline over the past decade due to a depleting dairy herd and high operational costs.
Zimbabwe’s dairy herd has dropped from 190,000 in 1990 to the current 33,000 resulting in declining milk production levels from 256 million litres to the current 55 million litres.
The country’s national milk demand stands at 120 million litres annually and the country plugs the shortfall through imports. This year, milk production was expected to increase by eight percent on the back of increased heifer imports.
