CEO of Iran’s dairy giant Kalleh says he will start anew to rebuild the company’s torched down factory in Iraq as he can’t afford to lose the 25% of the neigbouring country’s market.
“The damages inflicted are 80 million dollars but we won’t lose this market that is worth $80bn. Kalleh’s branch in Karbala, that has acquired 25% of the Iraqi market, burnt down last Tuesday,” Kalleh Dairy’s CEO Gholam Ali Soleimani told Iran Chamber Newsroom on Saturday.
The company’s branch in the central Iraqi city of Karbala caught fire last week, leaving a huge damage of $80m to the dairy factory. “The fire started first in the carton storage, then three pallets exploded and the fire spread in the whole factory,” explained Soleimani in an interview with Iran Chamber Newsroom, stressing that the fire “was 100% intentional”. But, he didn’t give more information as the investigation is still open.
A view of the burnt-down factory of Iranian giant Kalleh Dairy in the Iraqi city of Karbala
The Iranian company, that decided three years ago to establish its own business in Iraq instead of only exporting to the western neighbour, has now 25%, that is $80bn, of the country’s market.
“We produce 500 tons of dairy, that is 300 tons of yogurt, 200 tons of doogh, and 10 tons of meat products,” he explained.
Soleimani, who is one of the founders of the Solico holding company, can’t afford to lose such a big share of the market.
“We have decided from today to rebuild the factory again the faster the better. First we decided to destroy the skeleton frame but the Iraqi Fire Department didn’t allow us to do so because they are investigating the blaze,” he added.
“We will start very rapidly. What we did was that we exported 50% of the products to Iraq and 50% was produced there. However, under current conditions we will export all the products from Iran until the factory gets back to normal again,” Kalleh Dairy CEO noted.
The Iranian company, that employs 1,000 people, says the Iraqis are seeking to create jobs for their citizens. “That’s why we have 750 Iraqi employees, and the remaining 250 are Iranian,” he explained.
Kalleh, founded in 1991, is competing against Turkish, Saudi and Kuwaiti rivals as well as some Iranian companies, according to Soleimani.