at the end of DecemberAlberto Cañizares Rodríguez, director of the Sancti Spíritus Dairy Products Company, tried to reassure the population of Sancti Spiritus that they were not receiving milk, assuring that “in the coming days” the arrears would be recovered, but barely a month has passed and they have already had to re-making promises you can’t possibly keep.
The manager, asked again about Escambray, said this mondaywhen the delays exceed three days, that the situation is critical and the next two months, when the dry weather aggravates the conditions of the livestock sector, may be worse.
The official media qualifies as “intermittent” the delivery of fluid milk in Sancti Spíritus, Trinidad and the town of Guayos, in Cabaiguán, exactly the same municipalities as in December. To resolve the issue, Cañizares Rodríguez now announces that “it is possible that on certain routes the milk begins to arrive every two days, although the pending return will always be replaced by the consumer.”
The most recent of the problems has been the lack of ammonia, which is used to start the refrigeration systems, for which reason direct distribution to the unpasteurized milk cellar was chosen.
The most recent of the problems has been the lack of ammonia, which is used to start the refrigeration systems, for which reason the decision was made to distribute unpasteurized milk directly to the cellar, “which undoubtedly put some quantities at risk that turned sour.” And if something worse has not happened, it has been by chance.
Although raw milk became fashionable several years ago among the most radical promoters of organic food and even among Hollywood actors who promoted it, science points out that the consumption of unpasteurized milk is “Russian roulette”, since its sterilization kills potentially very dangerous bacteria (including E coli, salmonella, campylobacter and listeria) that can be in the animal even if the farmer is extremely careful.
Cañizares Rodríguez told Escambray that the refrigeration problems have been resolved since Sunday, so from today, Tuesday, the milk “that is due” will be replaced, either because it could not be delivered or because the product was acidic.
The official said that to catch up on deliveries, the vehicles will have to make more than one trip, but he promised that all debts would be settled and at the correct time.
The eventuality of refrigeration gives the punchline, and the official admits it, to the basic problem: there is not enough milk. In the previous information it was learned that only to cover medical diets and that destined for children’s consumption, 20,000 liters are needed each day, of which 5,000 had been lacking.
“Sometimes they have authorized us to use a little powdered milk, which is very scarce, to reconstitute it and catch up with the distribution, but the milk situation in the province of Sancti Spíritus is very difficult; and we have not yet entered the most critical months of the drought, March and April, which are the most difficult periods for the performance of livestock,” warns Cañizares now.
“Sometimes they have authorized us to use a little powdered milk, which is very scarce, to reconstitute it and catch up with the distribution
The manager also indicated that as of today the yogurt will be distributed again, which in January was replaced by a milkshake that could not be delivered as appropriate and for which quantities are owed. In addition, the distribution of soy yogurt resumes on Wednesday, for which refrigeration has also failed, so it will be given by rotating routes until there are enough stocks.
The measures to stimulate livestock and agricultural production that began to be implemented in 2021 included the possibility of freely selling surplus milk to farmers who had complied with the State, as well as paying in freely convertible currency for extra liters. However, the plans have turned out to be defective in most territories, including Sancti Spíritus, the only province in which the product had not been lacking in 2022 and where it is mostly consumed fluid.
The ranchers They regret that they are not paid the money in foreign currency as they need or that they are forced to comply with plans that are unrealistic or adapted to their eventualities, being penalized if they do not achieve it.
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