June 2013 Newsletter
It doesn't seem very long since I was writing to you all leading up to the two key months of December and January. Time is flying by! And fortunately Promasidor is also flying just as fast! I can report that December and January were good months for Promasidor and that we are on track for a solid 2013. As we all know however everything doesn't always go well! Firstly, the problems in northern Nigeria unfortunately continue to persist and Boko Haram remains a major threat to national security. Kidnappings are continuing and we are stepping up our security accordingly. Of course we have to commend and thank all our employees in Nigeria for their continuing dedication in moving the company forward in what are undoubtedly the most difficult times in Nigeria for many years. We hope and pray that the Government can quell the activities of Boko Haram, which it is saying it will do. Secondly, a drought in New Zealand and very cold temperatures in Europe have led to a global shortage of milk powder supply and global milk powder prices have increased by around 50% over the last two months This volatility in prices, a feature of the global milk market over the last few years, is not easy to manage, and If these high prices persist the second half of the year will be very challenging. I'll give you an update in the next Promasidor Link Newsletter.
However our competition are affected in the same way, and importantly Promasidor continues to go from strength to strength as evidenced by the many stories in this Newsletter. Loya continues to grow in both Nigeria and Ghana, and the Onga tablet's success is beyond our dreams. We are continuing our investment in Onga capacity and Onga will no doubt become a mega brand for the Promasidor group selling a wide range of SKU's across all of Africa. It is exciting times for Onga. Twisco continues to establish its number one brand positioning in Algeria with the launch of its latest banana chocolate flavour. And welcome to David Kinja as the official spokesperson for Sossi. David's achievements in cycling are legendary and with the tremendous global growth in this sport, which epitomises health and fitness, the association with Sossi is a perfect one. Sossi is gearing up to take Kenya by storm.
In the meantime we continue to strengthen the business day by day. Read with interest the article on Promasidor Ghana building stronger bonds with its customers and the IT developments in Nigeria. Every country can learn something from these developments and use these experiences to improve their business. Special congratulations must go to the Nigerian team for achieving the ISO Food Safety Management System Certification, the culmination of over a year's work in improving all aspects of our production and quality processes. They can be really proud of this achievement and the benefits to the business will be substantial. I am sure many countries will be following in these footsteps.
Finally congratulations to Promasidor Algeria who celebrated its 10th Anniversary and to all those employees of Promasidor Nigeria who celebrated 10 year and 15 year service awards. It is however incredible to think what a young company Promasidor is and how much you have all achieved in such a short time. Of course can I ask you all to continue the good work, keep motivated and keep ahead of the competition. The competition is there and often copying us, but I believe you will be the winners.
Take care and God bless
Mark Rose