Better deal

Zavala: “We would like the dairy to occupy an important place someday” in the country. “Years go by, governments go by, and dairy farmers are always left aside, and dairy farming, with the level of exports it has, deserves better treatment.”

Dairy producers met with the Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries, Alfredo Fratti.

The meeting was extensive, lasted more than 2 hours and had the participation of practically all the unions, said the producer and reference of the sector, Justino Zavala in statements to the Diario Rural program (CX4 Rural).

“All topics were covered,” he said, among them the conflict in Conaprole, the finances of the National Milk Institute (INALE), foreign trade and prevalent diseases.

A CONFLICT TO LOSE EVERYWHERE

Regarding the conflict in Conapole, the producers’ claim is that “positions are taken that defend production” because “what happened should not be repeated.” It was due to the closure of a plant and “had a disproportionate response from the union.”

The result is that “we end up with the plant closed and with a distribution center as a solution, which was already on the table practically before the conflict began.” Furthermore, “if the conflict had not occurred, the plant would still be open,” he assured given the deadlines and plans for the closure. Therefore “It is a case of losing – losing everywhere and one of the sectors that lost the most was that of the officials themselves,” he pointed out.

The cooperative’s operations are now “normalwith a lot of milk, with some delays in harvesting, with delays in unloading the plants, but it is a specific situation that is being resolved”he reported.

Asked about Fratti’s position on the issue, he said that the authorities are very careful, although “they accept that there are problems, that there is intransigence in the Conaprole union leadership, but there is no position as we would like from the Executive Branch,” something that “We also understand it,” Zavala said.

THAT THE PERCENTAGE OF EXPORTS GO TO INALE AND NOT TO LATU

Regarding INALE and the little money allocated to it, he commented that “It is a critical issue because of what the government did in the budget message, which is to propose 60% of what INALE’s current budget is, which is why next year it would have to close.”

However, “the minister (Fratti) told us that there was no way he was going to close” and that your position “it’s the same” What do producers have?“but he lost.”

The producers hope for greater financing: “What is allocated as a percentage of the retention of dairy exports to LATU (Technological Laboratory of Uruguay) goes to INALEto the extent that the LATU does not have any specific service for the sector, it does not have any function”, barely if “There are some small contributions to the technological network, but it is very little.”

The amount transferred from the dairy sector to LATU is US$2 million, which “it doesn’t make sense”, because with that sum INALE could function better.

In conclusion, “INALE will receive less money, but it will have a budget reinforcement so that it can continue functioning. That is what the minister committed to. We, the producers’ unions, and Fratti encouraged us to do so, are going to meet next Friday with the Senate Budget Commission and we are going to propose that the funds be redirected as they should be, from LATU to INALE.”

That is “the best solution, because it also frees up 35 million pesos from the budget so that it can be given to those who really need it,” he valued.

INALE’s budget for 2026 is 53 million pesos, which would allow “Continue with the operation as it is and not do something that should be done, such as, for example, and what worries us most, is that INALE has a greater participation in the promotion of the dairy abroad.”

On that topic “We believe that there has to be a national political agreement. It is not a problem for this government, but for all participants in the political spectrum to support the proposal.”

INALE must be an institute that promotes the sector, he added, that provides information, that participates in many projects, and that fulfills its “a fundamental role in the promotion of dairy farming in the world, which we already know is very important. INALE already does something, but it does not have the budget to do something better.”

“We would like the dairy to occupy an important place someday” in the country. “Years go by, governments go by and dairy farmers are always left aside.”and the dairy, with the level of exports it has, deserves better treatment.”

With the money that LATU takes “The budget would be covered and it would allow us to plan in a different way, because if not, every year we have to go from INALE to visit the desks of the Ministry of Economy, to beg that they have some weight on us.”