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Nestle to stop buying milk from Zimbabwe Presidentâ€™s farm

02 October 2009 21:38 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Swiss multinational Nestle says it will stop buying milk from a farm owned by the wife of Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe, APA reports quoting BBC.
Nestle said it had bought milk from farms including Grace Mugabe’s Gushungo Dairy Estate to help the country as its dairy industry neared collapse.
The move comes after human rights activists had called for a boycott of Nestle products.
The farm was seized from its white owner under controversial land reforms.
Nestle said it had been buying milk directly from Gushongo after the local processer Dairy Board of Zimbabwe could no longer do so.
But Nestle said the DBZ was now able to resume its purchases from Gushungo estate and seven other farms, meaning the temporary arrangement was no longer necessary.
A Nestle spokesman clarified to the BBC that the company does not buy milk from the DBZ but from individual farms, which do not include Gushongo.
"In light of the recent controversy surrounding our relationship with the Gushungo Dairy Estate, we believe that this announcement reflects our long-term commitment to Zimbabwe while acknowledging the specific circumstances around these events," Nestle said in a statement.