Tanzanian President John Magufuli has criticized what he describes as ‘unfriendly’ business practices by Brookside Dairy Limited, a company associated with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.
During an address to the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation on Thursday, December 3, Magufuli expressed concerns over Brookside Dairy Limited's practice of collecting milk from Tanzania, processing it in Kenya, and then selling it back to Tanzania.
"How many dairy firms do we have that are operational? Do you remember the Brookside company in Arusha? It used to collect milk from the Maasais in northern parts of Tanzania, take it to Kenya for processing then bring it back to us to drink… Enough is enough,"
he told the business people.
The statement has impacted the prospects of the Kenyatta family business' plans to re-enter the Tanzanian market. In 2009, Tanzania banned Brookside's milk collection and directed that all milk produced must be processed locally.
According to John Gethi, the general manager of milk procurement and extension services, the company had plans to resume milk collection to supplement erratic supply from Kenya.
Brookside Dairy Limited, the largest dairy processing company in East Africa, is co-owned by the Kenyatta family and the French company Danone. In 2014, the Kenyatta family sold 40% of their shares to Danone for an undisclosed amount.
In 2004, Brookside Dairy Tanzania Ltd acquired the Arusha plant of Tanzania Dairies with the intention of turning it into a state-of-the-art milk processing unit. However, the company later changed its strategy, citing low milk supply.
Government officials had previously expressed dissatisfaction with the export of milk to Brookside's Ruiru-based plant, arguing that the business model denied locals employment opportunities, leading to the ban.
The recovered account cited reporting by Tuko.
