May 24, 2004

 

 

Indonesia Laps Up New Zealand Milk

 

Although Indonesians drink on average just six litres of milk a year each, its dairy market is growing at 10 per cent a year.

 

New Zealand Milk Indonesia is expected to post record annual sales of US$50 million for the year ending this month - a doubling of revenue in just three years.

 

The company's general manager David Ross explains that the combination of creating consumer demand for milk, building strong brands to meet that demand and constructing a high performance climate within the company have been keys to its success.

 

Its flagship brand Anlene now controls 50 per cent of a key segment of the large milk powder market.

 

Although NZ Milk has been operating in the troubled republic for more than 15 years - a fraction of the time of some of its competitors - the company has started to get serious only in the past eight years, particularly after the Indonesian Government, like its regional neighbours, acknowledged it would never be self-sufficient in milk and removed the major barriers to importing dairy products in the 1990s.

 

Ross added that the consumer and food service arm of its parent company, Fonterra was forced to concentrate on areas it could excel in.

 

Other than Anlene, which represents 45 per cent of the company's revenue, brand names include Anchor, Anmum, Ucare, Boneeto and Chesdale.

 

Indonesia's milk market

 

* NZ exports to Indonesia: $391 million (in the 12 months to last September 30).

 

* Fonterra supplied more than 80,000 metric tonnes of ingredients to the region last season.

 

* NZ Milk Indonesia is expected to post record annual sales of US$50 million for the year to May.

 

* Anlene is one of Fonterra's top five brands worldwide.