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With the extreme climatic conditions in
these desert countries where the temperatures in summer soar
above 55 Deg C and drop down to 5 Deg C in winter, with bone
chilling drafts. In spite of such adverse weather conditions
and with severe shortage of cultivable land and water resources,
the kind of commercially viable and world-class Integrated
Dairy Farming activity these countries are carrying out is
beyond anyone's imagination.
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Saudi Arabia has 3 giant dairy companies
viz. Al-Marai Company Ltd., Al-Safi-Danone, and Al-Nada Dairy,
who not only cater to Saudi national dairy products requirement,
but also are major exporters to other Middle Eastern countries.
Let us see the profile of Al-Marai Company Ltd. headquartered
in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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Largest integrated dairy company in
the world with a total herd size of 45,000 Holstein Friesian
cows (pure bred) on their 3 farms.
- Operates the largest dairy processing facility (1.5 Million
Litres daily)
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Largest dairy and foods company in
the Middle East, with a 40% share of the fresh dairy market
concentrating on the production and sale of high quality
fresh dairy food fresh laban, fresh milk and fresh yoghurt
as well as a wide range of processed cheese, butter, juices
and desserts.
- Employs more than 4,000 staff drawn from more than 30
different countries.
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Almarai is the first dairy farm in
the world to gain ISO 9002 accreditation. Voted "World's
Food Plant of the Year 1998" by the US-based "Food
International" Magazine.
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The Almarai Dairy System concentrates
on animal well being through top-class husbandry techniques,
feed patterns and content, health and fertility schedules,
coupled with environmental control and world-class stockmanship
skills at farm level.
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The pedigree herd of Holstein Friesian
Cows is fed top quality forage, which is grown on the
Division's own arable farms, and a range of concentrates
on a zero grazing basis. Forage is grown in 8,000 hectares
of desert under modern irrigation systems.
Another giant dairy in Saudi Arabia, Al Safi
Danone is a part of the Al Safi organization, which owns the
world's largest integrated dairy farms at a measurement of
7,500 hectares with more than 30,000 Holstein Friesian cattle
reared on one single farm. These figures have helped the company
reach a world record-breaking title and being entered into
the Guinness Book of World Records.
Al-Nada Dairy from Saudi Arabia has similar
Integrated Dairy Farm and has been rearing around 19,000 Holstein
Friesian Cows.
Al-Rawabi Dairy in Dubai and similar ones
are successfully carrying on the integrated dairy activity
on inconceivable scale in Abu Dhabi, Oman and Kuwait.
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