Westpro is already on the front foot as it looks to strengthen its ties in the Middle East.

Brett Paterson, our Global Account Manager recently visited Saudi Arabia and Dubai to meet with direct customers and two distributors who we are looking to work closely with in the region.

Relationships are very important in this part of the world, Paterson says. Our customers and distributors want certainty that we can maintain a regular and continuous product supply into the region and there will not be shortages if demand from other importing countries picks up.

Our high heat skim milk powder, made from fresh pasteurised milk and used primarily in the region in breakfast creams and condensed milk, is the biggest volume product. Paterson’s visit reinforced that our Westpro product is highly regarded as a premium/quality product which can be used across all specifications, unlike some of the other brands. Given this, he says it’s important to have stock available to meet ongoing demand for this product.

In line with other countries we export to we are seeing growth in demand for proteins, including Westpro TotalPRO Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) 70 and now Westpro TotalPRO MPC 85, a low fat, low lactose product with many uses including in performance sports powders.

Price is still an important factor and while the quality of our product has benefits, our customer service and availability to the customer is crucial if we are to retain and pick up further business.  We need to be visible in the market  - they want to “feel the love” from us and we need to continue to foster relationships. Likewise, they want to be able to contact us easily and have quick responses so they can make decisions.  That means being available as required either by phone, email, WhatsApp, or text.

Paterson says a strong relationship also requires supporting them with order movements, particularly when problems are encountered. Examples include disruption to supply, and production caused by the April floods in Dubai along with shipping delays. 

Shipping delays to the region are still challenging, with considerable variations in vessel sailing times from one shipment to the next. Blockages are also occurring at ports which leads to products taking longer to be unloaded once they arrive. This makes regular ordering more difficult either to avoid running out of product, but also to avoid over stocking with no room to store excess product,  leading to demurrage fees as containers are picked up later.

“We recognise the challenges and it’s so important for us to help in any way we can,” Paterson says.