Pearl Dairy Farms Limited

Pearl Dairy Farms Limited, often referred to as Pearl Dairy, is a dairy processing company in Uganda.[2]

Pearl Dairy Farms Limited
TypePrivate
IndustryDairy processing
Founded2012 (2012)
HeadquartersBiharwe, Mbarara, Uganda
Key people
Devendra Seth
Managing Director
Bijoy Varghese
General Manager
ProductsButter oil, ghee, yoghurt, skimmed milk powder, full cream milk powder, UHT milk[1]
Number of employees
247 (2016)[1]
SubsidiariesIn Kenya
Offices in Kampala & Dubai
WebsiteHomepage

Location

The head office and factory of Pearl Dairy Farms Limited is located in Biharwe, a neighborhood along the Masaka–Mbarara Road, approximately 8.5 kilometres (5 mi), by road, northeast of the central business district of the city of Mbarara, in the Western Region of Uganda.[3] The coordinates of the company headquarters and factory are: 0°33'49.0"S, 30°42'11.0"E (Latitude:-0.563611; Longitude:30.703056).[4]

Overview

The factory is built on 15 acres (6.1 ha) and has capacity to process 500,000 liters of milk daily.[5] The milk is purchased from dairy farmers in Mbarara District and neighboring communities.[6] The company maintains corporate offices in Kampala and Dubai. Pearl Dairy Farms Limited maintains a subsidiary in Kenya. As of 2015, the company had plans to construct a milk processing plant of its own in the county. Until that factory is built, the company markets dairy products in Kenya, manufactured in its Ugandan plant.[7]

Ownership

The company is a member of the Midland Group of companies, a conglomerate active in Africa and the Middle East.[7] The detailed shareholding in the stock of the company as of March 2016 is shown in the table below.[8] In 2019, Rise Fund, managed by American private equity fund TPG Capital acquired 34 percent shareholding in Pearl Dairy Farms Limited for an undisclosed amount.[9]

Pearl Dairy Farms Limited Stock Ownership
RankName of OwnerOwnership in 2016Ownership in 2019
1Bhasker Kotecha and Family50.5[8]33.0[9]
2Anand Kapoor and Family49.5[8]33.0[9]
3Rise Fund0.0[8]34.0[9]
Total100.00100.00

Products

The factory manufactures the following products among others:[10] (a) full cream powdered milk (b) skimmed powdered milk (c) instant full cream powdered milk (d) UHT milk (e) ghee and (f) butter oil.[8] The company's products are consumed locally in Uganda and exported to Comesa Countries, West Africa, India, Nepal and United Arab Emirates.[1] In 2019, the firm began manufacturing yogurt for domestic and regional consumption. The yogurt products were developed with consultant collaboration of Cogito Food & Beverage of Auckland, New Zealand.[11]

Diversification

In 2020, the company invested an estimated UGX:10 billion (US$2.73 million) in commercial honey farming in collaboration with local dairy farmers. The need to diversify both the company and farmers’ incomes, arose out the challenges that have faced the milk production and processing industry. Local over-production, limited local consumption and difficulty in securing willing regional buyers are some of the challenges.[12]

More than 10,000 dairy farmers in the south western Ugandan districts of Bushenyi, Kabale, Kiruhura, Lyantonde, Mbarara, Mubende, Ntungamo, Sheema and Rukungiri that are confronted with milk-related challenges will be introduced to honey to diversify their incomes.[12]

As part of its diversification strategy, the company announced plans to enter new regional markets including, Ethiopia, Malawi, South Sudan and Zambia. The four leading export products for the company are (a) powdered milk (b) UHT milk (c) butter and (d) flavored milk.[13]

See also

References
  1. Alfred Tumushabe (20 June 2016). "Museveni Cautions On High Milk Prices". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  2. Al-Mahadi Adam Kungu (16 December 2019). "Government Closes Milk Coolers Owned By Pearl Dairies In Mbarara". Kampala: SoftPower Uganda. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  3. Google (30 April 2020). "Distance Between Downtown Mbarara And Pearl Dairy Farms Limited Milk Plant" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  4. Google (30 April 2020). "Location of Pearl Dairy Farms Limited Milk Factory" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  5. Campus Bee (20 June 2016). "Museveni Commissions Pearl Dairy Farms Limited". Kampala: Campus Bee Uganda. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  6. International Finance Corporation (26 May 2013). "IFC Projects Database - Pearl Dairy: Summary of Investment Information". Washington, DC: International Finance Corporation. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  7. Simon Ciuri (15 November 2015). "Uganda's Pearl Dairy To Build Plant In Kenya". Business Daily Africa. Nairobi. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  8. Bernard Busuulwa (15 June 2013). "IFC, Uganda's Pearl Dairy In $6.5 Million Loan Deal". The EastAfrican. Nairobi. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  9. Nicholas Asingwire (11 November 2019). "Lato milk manufacturer sells stake to American Investment firm". Kampala: Smart24TV Uganda. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  10. Food Business Africa (23 February 2015). "Industry Focus: Dairy Industry in Uganda". Nairobi: Food Business Africa Online. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  11. Michael Wakabi (6 October 2020). "From Auckland to Mbarara: The making of Ugandan yoghurt". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  12. Charlotte Ninsiima (4 September 2020). "Pearl Dairy diversifies into honey production". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  13. Ashita Chopra (23 September 2020). "Lato seeks to earn Shs18b yearly in new export plan". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 24 September 2020.

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