A leading Emirati dairy company has accused Saudi milk producers of launching a new price war by buying raw milk from small UAE farms at bargain prices, reported the Gulf News.
“Those small farms provide local dairy companies with raw milk,” said Khaled bin Kalban, CEO of Dubai Investments.
Kalban warned that the strategy aimed to stifle the growth of the UAE dairy industry, and that small farms "will be entrapped by the temptation" if officials did not intervene.
Vehemently denying the charge, the Saudi company Al Marai said that undermining the UAE market was unacceptable, but added that raw milk purchases were a business deal that benefited all parties, said the paper.
Kalban, meanwhile, called on UAE authorities to re-examine the European cow import ban that resulted in a crunch in UAE farms' raw milk supplies.
"Local farms understand the game and reject selling the Saudis raw milk. The UAE Ministry of Finance and Industry can solve this problem, since it took on its shoulders the formation of the UAE Dairy Producers Association and the UAE-Saudi agreement," Kalban said – Albawaba.com
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