Dairy Companies Look to Expand in Africa

The world’s top 20 dairy companies took their shares from a smaller overall dairy market last year, the Rabobank Global Dairy Top 20 report showed.

2015 proved to be a difficult year for most, with the strong US dollar and currency volatility, together with low commodity prices, reducing turnovers for most companies.

Mergers and acquisitions continued as companies sought additional value from domestic markets and new opportunities elsewhere, such as in Africa.

According to Rabobank’s Global Dairy Strategist Kevin Bellamy: "The big story in this year’s top 20 list of dairy companies - based on turnover - is the shrinkage of the overall size of the pie.

"Low dairy commodity prices and currency movements have had a dramatic downward effect on company sales values." – Click here to read more.

In research news this week, scientists have shown that a hormone known for making humans feel happy also plays a role in cows’ milk production.

The study, published in the Journal of Endocrinology, showed that increased serotonin hormone levels lead to increased calcium levels in Jersey and Holstein cows. Low calcium levels in cows can cause health problems known as milk fever.

"Because we looked at both breeds, we were able to see that the calcium regulation is different,” said one of the study’s authors, Laura Hernandez.

"Now we're working to understand how this works on a molecular level and translate these findings into treatments for milk fever." - Read more.