Fire Ravages Major Iranian Dairy Factory in Iraq

EghtesadOnline: A huge fire erupted at Iranian dairy, food and beverage company Kalleh in Iraq on Wednesday.

News ID: ۷۴۷۴۶۵

01 June 2019

According to estimates, about 90% of the dairy plant has been destroyed while its meat processing plant has remained intact.

The fire has caused over $80 million in damage to the company, a statement by the Public Relations Department of Kalleh Company published by Khabar Online reads, according to Financial Tribune.

The fire, which is suspected to be a case of arson, has claimed the lives of two workers, according a follow-up report by Fars News Agency.

“The plant located near Karbala city was launched in 2016 with a capacity to produce 500 tons of milk, 300 tons of yoghurt, 100 tons of cheese, 100 tons of cream and 100 tons of sausage,” Hamid Hosseini, the deputy head of Iran-Iraq Chamber of Commerce, said.

The factory had no insurance, not even the insurance of the Export Guarantee Fund of Iran "as it was not fully operational", he added.

Kalleh has been ranked by the market research company Euromonitor International as one of the top 50 brands in the world.

The company was founded by Solico Food Industries in 1991 as an industrial food company. In 2013, it had 26% of the Iranian cheese market.

Besides its headquarters in the northern Iranian city of Amol, it also has offices in Tehran, Iraq, the UAE, USA, Germany, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Britain and Russia.

Kalleh Group sells about 1,350 tons of products every day. It had a 16% share of Iran's food market in 2017.