Milking profits

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The region's restaurateurs demand the crème de la crème of dairy produce.

Saudi Arabia is the largest dairy producer in the Middle East, followed by the UAE. It is also the largest consumer, according to researcher IMES Consulting, with an estimated total consumption of dairy products in the Kingdom of 3.58 million liquid milk equivalent (LME) tonnes in 2006, versus 0.75 million LME tonnes for the UAE.

January's industry-wide price rise on fresh milk and laban in Saudi Arabia and the UAE does not appear to have slowed demand for the products, and despite the likelihood that other dairy products, such as butter, cheese and yoghurt, may become more expensive over time, the region's restaurateurs do not anticipate a drop in demand in the short term.

"The demand for milk has increased considerably in the last two years. People have learnt about its value and health benefits, and there is no substitute for it," explains executive corporate chef for Coral International, Hotels, Resorts & Spas, Michel Miraton.

"A variety of dairy products is part of most of our cuisine and the dairy products we rely on a lot are fresh milk, yoghurt, cheese, butter and cream. On a monthly basis, the catering section requires a supply of at least 1000l of fresh milk, 500l of cream and 100kg of cheese," he adds.

One of the key factors that will continue to drive sales growth in the dairy sector is the increasing demand from consumers for dairy products with functional properties, according to assistant F&B manager at the Fujairah Rotana Resort & Spa, Nehme Darwiche.

"This led to the promotion of added-value products such as pro-biotic and other functional yoghurts, reduced-fat and enriched milk products and fermented dairy drinks and organic cheese."

While demand may be set to continue, however, there are several reasons why this requirement for dairy produce is unlikely to be met locally, according to Steve Spurling, commercial manager-export, North Downs Dairy Company, which sells a range of British cheeses and exports to 50 countries worldwide, including the UAE.

"Firstly, the climate is not the best in the world for grazing cows and, therefore, milk production is low. Secondly, the rapid growth in both resident and tourist populations is driving up demand faster than the milk production process can be increased," he explains.

Nonetheless, many restaurants in Dubai try to source as much dairy produce as possible locally, according to Grand Hyatt Dubai's executive sous chef Thomas Brosnan.

"We source milk products and Arabic cheese from local suppliers for obvious reasons, but traditional cheeses cannot be made without all the resources and skills from its country of origin to create authentic produce, so speciality cheeses are always imported."

The Radisson SAS Hotel, Dubai Media City, which uses 65l of milk, 20kg of yoghurt and 10-15kg of cheese each month, also relies on local dairy producers.

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