Dairy cooperative Arla to invest a record €527mn to keep up with global demand

Denmark-based dairy cooperative Arla aims to increase its investments by 60% to meet global demand for dairy products. 

Arla, one of the largest dairy firms in the market, said that it would increase investments to a record EU€527mn in 2018, with plans to invest GBP£72mn into the UK this year.

The UK is the cooperative's largest market in Europe, accounting for a quarter of Arla’s total revenue.

Therefore, the cooperative will invest in 10 of its 12 UK sites to expand production capacity, with GBP£33mn going towards its factory in Aylesbury, England. 

SEE ALSO:

• Goldman Sachs invests in pea milk startup Ripple Foods
• Dairy giant Fonterra invests $165mn to boost production at its Victorian and Tasmanian factories
• Arla and DMK Group sign agreement over cheese production

“This investment is almost double the investment of last year and, with the exception of building the Aylesbury dairy, it is the biggest annual investment for Arla in the UK,” said Tomas Pietrangeli, managing director of Arla Foods UK.

"While milk prices remain volatile and Brexit brings both uncertainty and opportunity, Arla farmers in the UK and across Europe are committed to continually investing in our UK business to maintain pace with the demand for nature's original superfood, and the consumer choice it creates."

Arla, a cooperative owned by 11,200 farmers in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Britain, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands, also aims to put half of the total investments into projects outside of Europe, in burgeoning markets such as the Middle East, China, USA, China, Southeast Asia, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.

“In South-East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, disposable income is increasing and families are increasingly demanding nutritious dairy products,” Arla said, speaking of the investment in a statement.