Ornua has opened a cheese manufacturing facility in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The €20m investment will manufacture white cheeses, which are hugely popular in the Saudi Arabian market. It will also provide a base to access the high-growth dairy markets in the Middle East and North Africa. The investment will see Ornua take a 75% interest in Al Wazeen, a Riyadh-based dairy manufacturing company and distribution business.

Ornua CEO Kevin Lane said: “This investment provides Ornua with a new route to market for Irish dairy.” He added that the partnership with Teagasc in developing the technology is a great example of how innovative dairy technologies can create new ways of producing dairy products for global markets.”

The technology underpinning this venture was developed at the Teagasc food research centre, Moorepark, and was then adapted and managed by Ornua as part of an integrated research programme to develop a portfolio of cheeses that suit local tastes.

The Riyadh facility is the latest in a series of significant investments by Ornua and comes just weeks after the acquisition of Ambrosia, a dairy facility in Shanghai, China.

Listen to Eoin Lowry's podcast from the Al Wazeen factory:

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Ornua brings food technology to the Gulf with €20m investment