DROMONA CHEESE SET FOR MARKET GROWTH

Dromona cheddar cheese, the Dale Farm brand, is set for further market growth following the completion by the company of a £5 million centre of cheese excellence. In addition, Dale Farm, Northern Ireland's leading dairy business which owns Rowan Glen in Scotland and in Cumbria, has also secured a £1 million contract to supply its milk powder to Nigeria, as a result of its participation in the recent Gulfood 2008 exhibition in Dubai. The extension to the Dromona centre of cheese excellence at Cookstown in County Tyrone marks the completion of a major investment programme over the last three years. It will enable Dale Farm to increase total cheddar cheese capability to 20,000 tonnes a year from milk sourced from local farms. Dale Farm is the processing arm of United Dairy Farmers, one of Ireland's leading farm co-operatives with more than 2,000 members who annually provide the company with over one billion litres of milk. Cheese is now exported to Europe, Scandinavia and the Middle East by Dale Farm, which anticipates further growth in this business. David Dobbin, Dale Farm's Group Managing Director, said: ???Expanding the cheese business is a key element of our growth strategy which is focused on adding value to our products.??? The investment, he added, also increased whey processing facilities and will allow the group to expand its food ingredient offerings and lead to further improvements on its overall return. The Gulfood order will see the company's Godstar and Ludu milk powder products converted into a range of products including liquid milk and drinking yoghurt in Nigeria. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of successful consumer products and ingredients. Dale Farm has operations throughout the UK and Ireland producing and distributing a wide range of dairy products which it sells throughout the country and Ireland as well as exporting to over 45 countries worldwide. It has targeted the Middle East and Africa as a key growth markets. Group subsidiary Dale Farm Ingredients is a major player in both the European and overseas dairy export market. The group's consumer brands cover every dairy need from milk, cream, cheese, butter, and dairy spreads to yogurts, Probiotic drinks, ice cream and desserts and are synonymous with natural, wholesome and quality dairy goodness. Dale Farm's success demonstrates the values embedded in the recently launched ???Northern Ireland Good Food Is In Our Nature??? campaign.