Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
cessors sell the majority of their output through supermar-
kets or retail stores.
The largest goat milk processing dairy in the U.K.
started off as a small producer/processor who concentrated
almost solely on pasteurizing drinking milk and yogurt
production with just a few hundred milking goats. The
business developed into a large and successful operation
that has now acquired a processing dairy that makes the
greatest volume of hard goat cheese in the U.K. About
95% of their production is sold through supermarkets and
the rest through specialty shops. They process between 15
and 20 million liters of goat milk for consumption each
year into cheese (60%), drinking milk (20%), yogurt
(10%), and the rest for butter, cream and ice cream.
M
ARKETING
S
TRATEGIES
Marketing requires selling a volume of product with
the right standard to remain profi table. So often it has
been diffi cult for small enterprises to supply the required
volume on a regular basis, and sometimes the standard
of goat products has not been consistent particularly
with respect to hygiene. In the U.K., a number of coopera-
tives have been developed among dairy goat producers
and processors. They collect milk from farms and trans-
port milk to processors, organize fi nancial transactions,
and pay farmers for the milk. In this system, the price
received by farmers and a regular supply of milk to
processors is guaranteed. The cooperatives could also
help with generic marketing of the products by pro-
ducing advertising materials. However, hygiene require-
ments necessary for such activities are capital intensive,
therefore many small goat producers were unable to
participate.
More than 60% of all dairy products are sold to super-
markets, and the rest are sold through other avenues such
as farmers markets, catering, and restaurants. Goat product
prices are price insensitive. They are consumed for health
reasons and by those who are willing to pay the price in
specialty markets.
In summary, this case study was presented to help
understand the process to develop markets for goat prod-
ucts and how goat products can be a part of the food chain
through health and specialty markets. These markets are
functioning well in most of the developed countries.
Developing countries can use this as a model to join the
health and specialty markets.
M
ARKETING
O
UTLETS
Two major marketing outlets in the U.K. are health markets
and specialty food markets. The market outlets depend on
the scale and products they offer. The largest producers
supply to the major supermarkets, and the smaller ones
supply the specialty retailers such as health shops, delicates-
sens, specialty cheese shops, and directly to consumers.
H
EALTH
M
ARKET
The health market created the demand for goat milk as an
alternative to cow milk for people with a health problem
and when goat milk is believed to be benefi cial. The health
benefi t of goat milk is based on scientifi c studies reported
by Walker (1956) that claimed goat milk to be therapeutic
in nature and stated that a child with infantile eczema
recovered when its diet was changed to goat milk instead
of cow milk. There are numerous scientifi c reports in
Chapter 14 of this topic describing the superiority of goat
milk to provide a convincing argument for a demand and
thus market for goat milk.
Goat Fiber Marketing — South African Experience
Since the 1800s, the fi ber industry in South Africa has gone
through periods of good fortune marked by high prices and
an increased level of production, to misfortunes related
to climatic change, disease outbreak, and changes in
the fashion industry. The industry has assistance from the
government through the establishment of a Mohair
Advisory Board and Mohair Control Board that set stan-
dards. Mohair is still marketed through brokers in auctions
scheduled by the Mohair Advisory Board. About 44% of
South African mohair producers get more than 50% of
their total farm income from their investment in Angora
goats. Mohair requires relatively specialized labor and
capital investments. The relationship between the produc-
ers and the processors is not well established. Producers
have to identify alternative marketing structures and deci-
sion making for a successful enterprise (Jordaan and
Kristen, 2008 ).
S
PECIALTY
F
OOD
M
ARKET
Goat dairy products as specialty food products are found
in many countries, including the U.K. Even in developing
countries, encouragement to farm goats using more pro-
ductive breeds, in some cases, has resulted in milk that is
surplus to the requirements of the family. This has led to
the development of a small processing industry and it is
now possible to fi nd goat cheese in countries where, until
comparatively recently, the goat was seen as a source of
meat rather than milk and where any dairy industry even
from cow's milk was virtually unknown (Peacock, 1996).
The increase in the consumption of goat cheese in the U.K.
is attributed to the British traveling especially to France
where goat cheeses are popular (Mowlem, 2005).
