The debt that Russia maintains with Conaprole by exports of dairy products, especially butter, amounts to US$ 7 million and corresponds to pending payments from a private actor, not from the Russian State.
Gabriel Fernández, president of Conaprole, this Tuesday when assuming that responsibility, highlighted that Russia “is an important client” and “regular” for the company that “there is no risk” to make the paymentsHowever, he specified that there are insurances, in order to reduce the risks in scenarios of weak currencies in the exchange rate or due to collection management.
He even said that 48 or 72 hours ago Conaprole collected a debit item.
“We can give the producers who send to the cooperative peace of mind that we are going to recover all the debt that Russia has”, which, he pointed out, It is a reasonable amount based on the flow that Conaprole has with that destination.
He explained that there is merchandise that has already arrived at its destination and for which there is that debit balancecommodity in transit and merchandise that was not shipped because shipping companies, given the difficulties in reaching the area after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, do not face new transfers or even in some cases they unloaded butter that they were going to take.
In the last decade, Conaprole has, on average, placed products in that destination for close to US$ 100 million.
Daniel Laborde, a member of the new board of the country’s main export company, added that although Russia is the main destination for Uruguayan butter, “There are opportunities in other markets, there are other markets interested in buying the butter that was destined for Russia as the main market”.
Camilo dos Santos
Gabriel Fernández Secco, new president of Conaprole.
“Very clear” challenges
In the act in which he assumed the presidency, in the San José farm, the new head of the cooperative alluded to “very clear” challenges for the company, pointing out two of them: increase the portfolio of countries to which the products are exported, in order to minimize the risk of adversities when there are unexpected and problematic scenarios like the current one, alluding to the war unleashed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and put on the world market the line of nutritional productsa new business unit, for which a global investment of US$ 140 million has just been made in one of its industrial complexes, located in the city of Rodríguez, in San José.
“Like a good family man”
When asked about the debt that Venezuela still has with Conaprole, which led to a lawsuit between the cooperative and the Uruguayan State, on the one hand, he stated that “Conaprole commercializes with payment security” and that that business with Venezuela happened “in another context”.
The Minister of Livestock Fernando Mattos declared this Monday at a press conference that his portfolio received information in the last hours about the trial for which Conaprole demands the payment of US$31.8 million for powdered milk shipments to Venezuela that have not yet been collected, “to which another US$30 million are added for damages”, which brings to a total of US$ $61.8 million lawsuit.
On that, Fernández this Tuesday stated: “We spoke with the Executive Power on more than one occasion (…) the lawyers of each party will have to do their job and the Justice will determine how the issue will be resolved”.
“Venezuela is closely linked to that, it is the one who owes that item, We will continue in good relations with each one, defending what corresponds to him, as a good father of a family, as the scribes say”, he added.
New directory in Conaprole
This Tuesday 8 The new board of directors began the exercise of its responsibility of commanding the cooperativeelected in December of last year. It is chaired by Gabriel Fernández Secco; the vice president is José Alejandro Pérez Viazzi; and the members are Daniel Laborde Goñi, Juan Javier Parra Mainero and Álvaro Lapido Bove. This board of directors will direct the cooperative in the period 2022-2027.
“We are five producers, we are going to watch over the interests of the rest of the producers who send to the cooperative and the functioning of the entire cooperative, as a good company for all Uruguayans,” said Fernández Secco.
“We hope to have five years of fruitful work for the good of all of us who are linked to the cooperative: officials, sending producers, the population in general and the country as a whole”, he added.
“We are going to maintain Conaprole’s line of conduct” hand in hand with “transparent and efficient” management, the new president remarked.
Pérez Viazzi, when considering another key issue for the referring producer, highlighted that in the last Fonterra tender the price of whole milk powder, which is what is most exported, reached a record of over US$ 4,700 per ton , something that “adds certainty” to the hypothesis that in the short term there may be a transfer of better payments for milk to producers, perhaps through some winter settlement. He explained that these improvements in international prices reaching these levels are recent, so the capitalization of it, given the dynamics of sales, will happen later.
Camilo dos Santos
The new directory was presented this Tuesday at the San José farm.
50 new drums
After another query, Fernández pointed to 3% as historical annual growth data for production. He recognized that there are fewer dairy farms, but a higher production. That growth “surely” will continue, she estimated.
“Conaprole has installed industrial capacity to be able to receive more milk,” he commented. He also said that one objective is to generate “an attractive business” and that what will be done is “generate the productive and credit conditions so that the producer has the tools to enter the business and try to make the cooperative as efficient as possible.” and that can pay a price that competes with other agricultural productions and motivates people to put up a dairy”, which requires a significant initial investment, in an activity where whoever puts up a dairy “does not put it up for a year or two, such as planting soybeans, corn or buying some steers, it is undoubtedly a more difficult decision”.
“There are people who are doing it, in the last three years we had 50 new producers, now Olam is leaving, which is a strong blow for the cooperative and for the country in terms of milk production and luckily a good part of those lands will continue to be dairy with other people who came in and invested in dairy,” he said.
Various strategies can be proposed, he concluded, “but the best strategy is the price (of milk) and that is what we have to do.”
Other topics considered at the presentation conference of the new board of directors were technological and research developments internally and towards dairy farms, access to new markets for production, links with Prolesa and Proleco, also with Inale, and the relationship with company officials.
