Dairiboard sales drop as milk intake decline by 6%

The country’s biggest dairy producer, Dairibord Zimbabwe, has announced that the company registered a 12.5% fall in sales for the period ending December 2020.

The company has attributed the decline to the COVID-19 induced restrictions and the fallen output from dairy farmers, as well as a drop in product demand.

In its latest annual financial statement for the period under review, Dairibord said farmers produced less milk, due to the impact of high costs of stock feed, and as a result of drought.

“Raw milk intake declined by 6%, largely caused by reduced yields at dairy farms due to stock feed price increases.

“The country experienced a shortage of stock feeds because of the droughts in preceding years,” said Dairibord.

Dairibord’s sales volumes were 12.5% lower than 2019, the company added that while there was a recovery in sales in the second half, supply chain constraints limited the business’ ability to fully capitalise on demand.

“The second half of the year saw relaxation of operating restrictions, increased economic activity and rebounding consumer demand.

“The introduction of the foreign currency auction system on 23 June 2020 bolstered price stability and positively impacted on industry’s ability to secure inputs,” Dairibord said.

-Zwnews