By Danae Alexaki
One of Greece’s biggest and oldest dairy producers, Fage, will reportedly abandon the domestic milk market all together.
The Fage group, which has expanded dynamically into the yoghurt sector overseas, especially in North America, is poised to sell off its related facilities and equipment, including its state-of-the-art Amyntaio unit in northern Greece.
Fage is also expected to shift its business model more on cheese-making, as well as yoghurt.
The Greek multinational mostly hinted at its complete exit from the milk market in its 2015 financial report, where it said its presence in the sector was not profitable.
Negotiations are ongoing over the sale of the facilities and equipment, reports state.
The 14,000-sq.-meter Amyntaio unit alone absorbed 37 million euros of capital to construct, coming on line in 2005 and employing 140 workers. It was the biggest investment in the western Macedonia region when opened.
Fage was estimated to hold a 7-percent share of the domestic milk market (high pasteurization) in 2015; 4.3 percent for chocolate milks.
Fage had already exited the fresh milk market in Greece as far back as September 2006.
