Jan Derck van Karnebeek, who took over the helm of Dutch cooperative dairy FrieslandCampina in June 2023, considers the last two years to have been a successful period. In an interview with Boerderij, van Karnebeek points out that the company was able to pay “a good, market-leading milk price” in a volatile milk market. Van Karnebeek (freely translated): “Of course, we had to take action on costs in 2023. Layoffs do not necessarily lead to a positive atmosphere within a company at first. Another good indicator of success is that dairy farmers are applying for membership with us. Farmers are sensible people, and when they approach you, you are obviously doing something right.”
FrieslandCampina has seven business units. Van Karnebeek comments: “I consider all the different market-product combinations [according to van Karnebeek, there are 45 in total] to be equally important. That was not the case in the past. The company was strongly focused on its consumer brands. But FrieslandCampina has much more to offer than just these consumer brands. These are often less visible markets, but no less interesting for that. The company’s earning power in the so-called B2B markets has been neglected until now.”
The manager had this to say about the milk price: “We see that the decline in the milk price is supply-driven. Considering that most dairy farmers already have their feed stocked up for the coming months, it is unlikely that milk deliveries will decline rapidly. This market dynamic will not change so quickly. I expect the milk price to continue to fall and remain at a low level in the coming months … Most of the market turbulence is in basic dairy products.”
When asked whether Milcobel members will benefit more from the merger than FrieslandCampina members, van Karnebeek responds: “That’s a bit short-sighted. It’s no secret that Milcobel’s milk price was a few pence lower than FrieslandCampina’s. Our goal is to achieve the guaranteed price for Milcobel’s milk volume as quickly as possible. There is a very concrete plan to achieve this as quickly as possible. Even in view of the current lower milk prices, this plan is still viable. It is important that the merger benefits all members. Thanks to Milcobel’s strong position in the mozzarella sector, for example, FrieslandCampina will gain a valuable addition to its product range and access to new markets. These additions strengthen the joint portfolio and offer numerous opportunities for synergies and growth within the new organisation. All members will see this reflected in their milk price in the long term.”
Photo: FrieslandCampina
