Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man plans to enter Kenya’s diary industry with a plant for the production of powdered milk set to be mounted in the country’s capital city, Nairobi.

“Nigerians consume a lot of powder milk more than any other milk product. It is because of this that we would like to start a drying plant here to tap the ready market back at home,” Business Daily quoted Sani Dangote, vice-president of the Dangote Group, and brother of Aliko as saying.

Sani, who spoke during the inking of an agribusiness trade partnership between Kenya and Nigeria noted that feasibility studies that will determine the location, capacity and worth of the dairy plant will commence in the coming weeks.

Dangote’s entry into Kenya’s diary market will be met with stiff competition from current market leader Brookside, which holds 45 percent share after it acquired a couple of local processors.

Brookside, 40 percent of which now belongs to French firm Danone following a July acquisition, also plans to expand operations to Nigeria, a country that spends more than $200 million on milk imports annually.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the average African consumes about 36kg of milk every year, and with the continent’s middle class growing rapidly, this is expected to increase exponentially as it moves towards achieving the 200kg per person, per year, recommended by the WHO.

Dangote currently imports more than 4,000 tonnes of powder milk worth $1.2 million, from Europe to serve its market in Nigeria. Production in Kenya will therefore be cost effective for the company and also provide more jobs.

The Nigerian conglomerate’s interest in Kenya, East Africa’s largest economy, varies from mining to manufacturing, with a new cement plant worth about $382 million being set up in Kitui, 180 km east of Nairobi.