Camel Cheese Factory Breaks Ground in Oman: Rural Women at the Heart of Production

Rakhyut, Oman — May 6, 2025: Oman has launched its first camel cheese factory, marking a major step in agricultural innovation and rural empowerment. The project, signed today in Rakhyut, Dhofar, is led by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in partnership with Oman’s Ministry of Agriculture and funded by Al Jisr Foundation.

Set to begin operations in early 2026, the plant will start with a capacity of 500 liters to 2 tons of camel milk daily, eventually expanding to over 15 tons per day. Products will range from fresh and semi-hard camel cheese to condensed milk, dairy-based sweets, and ice cream.

Producing one kilogram of camel cheese requires 8–12 liters of milk, highlighting the factory’s potential value in Oman’s dairy sector.

What sets this project apart is its human-centric model. Twenty rural women from the Omani Women’s Association in Rakhyut are being trained in hygiene standards, dairy processing, marketing, and microenterprise management — becoming the project’s key workforce.

Dhofar, home to over 177,000 camels as of 2023, positions itself as a national hub for camel-based industries. The FAO called the initiative a “strategic investment in food security and human capital” with global export potential.

Notably, 2024 has been declared International Year of Camelids by the United Nations — giving Oman a unique global platform to showcase the value of its native camel milk economy.