Agropur to Close Sussex Dairy Plant, Expand Maritime Operations

In April, Agropur, a dairy product co-operative, announced the closure of its Sussex-area plant in southern New Brunswick by 2028. The decision has been met with support from local farmers, according to Maxime Devourdy, president of ingredients at Agropur, who noted that farmers understand the long-term benefits for the regional dairy industry.

The closure of the Sussex plant, along with the Truro, Nova Scotia plant, aligns with Agropur's plans to expand production capacities in Miramichi, New Brunswick, and Bedford, Nova Scotia. The expansion is expected to create an additional 15 jobs in Miramichi, although an overall loss of 45 jobs is anticipated for New Brunswick.

The Sussex facility, originally opened in 1984 under the Dairytown name, merged with Agropur in 2014. Devourdy remarked that discussions about the future use of the vacated plants are yet to be held with stakeholders.

One of the key benefits of this strategic shift is the potential to process more Maritime milk within the region, reducing the need to ship milk to Quebec and Ontario. 'We are doubling the capacity of the milk that is being processed in the region,' Devourdy said, emphasizing the capacity to handle the volume previously sent to other provinces.

The expansion will also enhance the Bedford plant's ability to process protein-enriched milk products, such as skim milk powder and condensed skim milk. Devourdy highlighted the rapid growth in demand for enriched protein milk products, noting their double-digit growth rate and increasing importance in Agropur's product portfolio.