1. Hatsun Planning to Set up Ice-Cream Unit in Fiji
   
   
2. Kenya: World Bank Bails Country’s Dairy Sector
   
   
   

1. Hatsun Planning to Set up Ice-Cream Unit in Fiji
   
   After Seychelles, Hatsun Agro Product Ltd., is now planning to put up a manufacturing facility for its ‘Arun’ ice-cream in Fiji. Mr. R.G. Chandramogan, CMD of the Chennai-based company says, “We hope to commission the plant by September. Just as in Seychelles, this unit will also be set up through a local franchisee who will manufacture and market our ice-cream brand in Fiji.” Mr. Chandramogan adds, “Hatsun's 3,000 litres per day (LPD) plant at Seychelles was commissioned in mid-May and we have captured a 70 per cent share in the market there.” The Fiji unit will also be a similar-sized facility that would basically source the raw Ingredients (milk powder, dairy fats, dry fruits, etc.) and packing material from Hatsun.
   
   Ice-cream contributed around Rs. 800 crore last year for Hatsun Group with three fourths of Rs. turnover coming from sale of liquid milk under its ‘Komatha’ and ‘Arokya’ brand. Although ice-cream generates barely six per cent of its total sales, the entire selling and distribution network for branded milk has been built on the base provided by ‘Arun Ice Cream, which is currently being sold in Brunei’. In fact, it has been very important for brand equity and continues to be so even today. The reason for Seychelles and Brunei’s unit is that these are not big enough market for the Unilevers’ and Nestle’s to set up shop so the competition and brand promotion gets reduced automatically and in Fiji, the import duty on ice-cream at about 27% is more than the 5% for the raw materials.
   
   Hatsun currently has a capacity to manufacture 50,000 LPD of ice-cream and claims to be the market leader in the South.
   
   
2. Kenya: World Bank Bails Country’s Dairy Sectorh
   
   The World Bank through its International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) says it has released US$69.3 million for the revival of the Kenya’s dairy industry to support farmers, three months after the sector incurred massive losses in the recent political unrest.
   
   Presenting the good news to farmers, the newly appointed Hon’ble Livestock Minister, Mr. Mohamed Kuti said that the money will be split into pools to support dairy farmers who have been in the recent past petitioning the government for financial support to resuscitate their livestock enterprises. The local dairy industry was one of the hardest hit by poll chaos, to a point that some of the dairy factories stopped operating as other operated under capacity due to supply hitches that were occasioned by transport problems during the post poll chaos.
   
   The price of milk has since shot up sharply and the products are on high demand in the Middle East, which has remained a lucrative market for the milk. Yemen and Saudi Arabia are some of the Kenya dairy product consumers.
   
   The funding comes two months after a farmers organization petitioned the government to financially assist them restart their livestock farming.