Giplait inaugurates its Rouiba dairy plant in Algeria

ALGERIA – Giplait has inaugurated its Rouiba dairy plant, with a daily capacity of 1 million litres of pasteurized and packaged milk, and commissioned its ultra-high-temperature (UHT) milk production line.

The facility, built by state-owned group Giplait on a four-hectare site, has the capacity to produce 1,200 metric tons of milk per day. Authorities say it is the largest operating dairy plant in the country.

The project follows the President of the Republic’s decision to equip this densely populated region with milk production facilities and to provide citizens with a continuous, regular supply of this vital commodity.

Mr Oualid, Algeria’s agriculture ministry, highlighted the importance of this factory in boosting national milk production and ensuring a regular supply for the populations of Algiers and the neighbouring wilayas.

He also stated that individual milk consumption in Algeria is high, at 145 litres per year. “This consumption “places us far above the global average of 90 litres set by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO)”.

He emphasised the importance of private investment in dairy production and indicated that his department plans to focus on developing value-added activities for the national economy, such as infant milk production, in partnership with foreign operators, in addition to exporting milk derivatives.

Additionally, plans are to export certain dairy products, such as cheese, for which manufacturers have demonstrated a high level of expertise.

The commissioning of the ultra-high-temperature (UHT) milk production line, with a capacity of 15,000 litres per hour, brings the total capacity of this dairy to more than 1.2 million litres per day, including 1 million litres of subsidised pasteurised milk for sale at regulated prices.

According to Samah Lahlouh, CEO of the Giplait group, the group has 17 subsidiaries nationwide, covers 52% of the pasteurised milk market in Algeria, and the Rouiba dairy is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment providing the highest levels of competence and quality.

The Giplait group’s annual milk production capacity is around 2.2 billion litres, of which 1.9 billion litres is drinking milk, representing 85.40% of total capacity.

With a range of over 120 dairy products, the group relies on 1,077 affiliated distributors and 216 points of sale. For raw milk, Ms Lahlouh indicated that the average daily collection of cow’s milk is around 550,000 litres.

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