Oman National Dairy Products (ONDP) will promote its fresh laban and milk in the emirates, triggering fears of a fresh burst in the dairy price war.

Though the company's main line of production is focused on long-life milk and juices, its short-life laban and yoghurt sell well in its home market and can acquire a good market share in the UAE, company marketing manager Krishna Kumar Menon said. "We want to raise our UAE market share through consumer-based marketing activities. Our long-life brand, Zain, has been already been there for some years," he said.

"We want to increase our market share of both long-life and short-life products. We made headway with marketing our products and increasing customer acceptance," he said.

ONDP produces around five million litres of long-life milk and juices every month. Its fresh products are sold in Oman, while the long-life products are sold in the GCC.

The company claims a 12 per cent share of Saudi Arabia's long-life dairy and juice market and around two per cent of the same in the UAE market.