Arla to sell dairy in Poland

Arla Foods will centralise its current production of Mozzarella cheese at its dairy plant in Rødkærsbro, Denmark. Consequently, the company is looking to sell its production facilities in Gościno, Poland.

In a step to make production more efficient for the benefit of both farmers and consumers, Arla Foods has decided to centralise production of Mozzarella cheese for its European markets. Arla has now begun the process of negotiations with a potential buyer to take over its Mozzarella dairy in Gościno, Poland. A Letter Of Intent was signed by both Parties last week. The transaction is planned to be finalised by the end of December 2011.

Senior Vice President in Arla Foods, Hans Christensen, who is responsible for Emerging Markets and North America, emphasises that the efforts to sell the dairy in Gościno will have no effect on the company’s sales activities on the Polish market.

“Our plans to sell the dairy in Gościno does not change our ambitions on the Polish market. We consider Poland to be a strategic growth market for us, and we remain fully dedicated to continue the current growth of our branded business on this market, which has doubled within the last two years thanks to products like Lurpak butter, Buko cream cheese, and yellow cheese,” says Hans Christensen.

“Selling the dairy in Gościno makes sense, since most of our mozzarella business is elsewhere in Europe and is not a part of our strategic plans for our brands on the Polish market. Our priority in Poland is to offer the Polish consumers high-quality butter and cheese products and to continue our search for business partner relationships, joint venture opportunities, and acquisitions that will support our category focus,” he says.

Arla Foods does not wish to disclose the name of the interested buyer at this time.

The dairy in Gościno also produces yellow cheese and currently employs 100 people.