Decision Making in Trade - Essay Example

carvings found in the early tombs reveal the types of cattle kept, milking methods and other interesting facts” (EL- Rafey, n.d). There are about two million cattle and buffalo in Egypt, producing approximately 1.5 million tons of milk valued at 50 million euros. About 60 percentage of the milk-producing animals are buffaloes. The milk produced is utilized in the following fields: 145000 tons for market milk; 560000 tons for cheese manufacture; 700000 tons for butter manufacture; and 95000 tons for miscellaneous use.

In the recent years, considerable attention has been given to ways of improving production and supply of milk to large towns, and the installation of modern pasteurization and processing plants. 1) The structure of diary product market in Egypt. It is estimated that a yearly increase in milk production equivalent to 30 kg per animal, could replace the imported milk products, provided that plant facilities are available for their manufacture. The per capita consumption of milk and milk products is very low, amounting to only about 60 kg of milk.

From the nutritional point of view, milk consumption should be increased 300%, thus, plans are being devised to increase milk production. “The dairy market consists of retail sales of cheese, chilled desserts, cream, fromage frais, milk, spreadable fats and yogurt” (Datamonitor, 2011). Egyptian cuisine consists of the local culinary traditions of Egypt. Egyptian cuisine heavily uses legumes and vegetables, which are produced in large quantities due to the fertile land present near the Nile valley and delta.

Dairy products also have a good demand in the market, mainly because people in Egypt are conscious of having hygienic and healthy food. That is the reason why they purchase more dairy products. The main ingredient in the dairy product, as mentioned earlier, is milk. The milk production in Egypt has various stages, the two million buffaloes and cows are distributed over six million feddans of agricultural land, which constitute the Nile valley. About 80% of cattle are distributed in over one million farms, where each farmer owns from one to three animals.

These farms are grouped into 4000 villages. The average number of dairy cattle is 500 per village. Milk produced by these animals is rather low, being one ton a year per buffalo and half a ton per cow. It is estimated that farm animals in Egypt provide an income of ?E 45 million to the farmers and manure valued at ?E 10 million. Experiments have shown that when dairy cattle are kept for milk production only, they respond exceedingly well to balanced rations and better management, and usually double their milk production.

This indicates the potentiality for increasing milk production without raising the number of cattle. Distribution channels: The Dairy product companies implemented an action plan, during last few years to increase and condense the local components, based on the fact that the company products depend basically on milk and that the milk production in Egypt reaches about 7000 MT per day. Mainly by individual distributors and local manufacturers, the companies are collecting this milk through the collection units spread in the Delta region, to utilize it in manufacture instead of depending on imports.

That is to use this milk to produce all kinds of dairy products within the country. “The companies offer a variety of products in two areas: