Suthentira Govender
Suthentira Govender
A South African dairy farmer is milking a shortage of fresh dairy products in Mauritius, by starting a multi-million rand milk-producing farm on the island.
Stuart Mackenzie, the owner of Loskop dairy farm in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands, stumbled on the opportunity while exploring avenues to expand his business.
"I couldn't find appropriate land in South Africa for the expansion, so I looked at the overseas market. I found that Mauritius's production of fresh milk was negligible and I thought I could fill the gap," Mackenzie said.
Mauritius, according to Mackenzie, produces about two percent of their milk consumption. The island's dairy market is dominated by long-life milk as well as imported butter and cheese.
The Mauritian Board of Investments helped facilitate Mackenzie's business initiative, who partnered with a Mauritian fresh produce distributor, to launch SKC Dairy Fresh.
Mackenzie has leased 100 hectares of land on a rolling sugar estate.
For now he will concentrate on milk production. In Mauritius SKC Dairy Fresh will be producing and processing the milk.
"We are going to stick to milk production, purely because there isn't any fresh milk and we can't produced enough of it to do other products. We are limited by the amount of land that we have in Mauritius," he said.
SA dairy farmer sets up shop in Mauritius
Suthentira Govender
Suthentira Govender
A South African dairy farmer is milking a shortage of fresh dairy products in Mauritius, by starting a multi-million rand milk-producing farm on the island.
Stuart Mackenzie, the owner of Loskop dairy farm in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands, stumbled on the opportunity while exploring avenues to expand his business.
"I couldn't find appropriate land in South Africa for the expansion, so I looked at the overseas market. I found that Mauritius's production of fresh milk was negligible and I thought I could fill the gap," Mackenzie said.
Mauritius, according to Mackenzie, produces about two percent of their milk consumption. The island's dairy market is dominated by long-life milk as well as imported butter and cheese.
The Mauritian Board of Investments helped facilitate Mackenzie's business initiative, who partnered with a Mauritian fresh produce distributor, to launch SKC Dairy Fresh.
Mackenzie has leased 100 hectares of land on a rolling sugar estate.
For now he will concentrate on milk production. In Mauritius SKC Dairy Fresh will be producing and processing the milk.
"We are going to stick to milk production, purely because there isn't any fresh milk and we can't produced enough of it to do other products. We are limited by the amount of land that we have in Mauritius," he said.