Clash between Asoleche and Fedegán: is Colombia lacking milk?

According to the Colombian Association of Milk Processors (Asoleche), the milk production it has a drop and there is a shortage WHICH is above 1.6 million liters per day, which would show that production and stockpiling have fallen by about 15%.

(See: Asoleche estimates that there are 1.6 million liters missing per day).

As a consequence, he projects that there will be possible stockouts and price rises.

“We must avoid shortages in shops, in industries that need raw materials to process them into food and dairy beverages and, of course, support the sustainability of the 736,000 people who live, work and depend on this sector”, Assured the union led by Juan Sebastián Bargans.

(See: Dairy sector will feel the effects of the 2021 national strike for two years).

To this the executive president of the Colombian Federation of Cattlemen (Fedegán), José Félix Lafaurie Rivera, pointed out that the dairy industry is playing with public opinion and that “They use the same strategy as always, ensuring a shortage to lower the purchase price to farmers and stop collecting their milk. That he did for a long time. Then came the imports”.

According to Dane figures, milk production grew 8.8% in the first quarter of the year; in the second quarter, 12%; and in the third quarter, 4.2%, so Lafaurie noted: “Where does the industry get the story that there is a shortage of 1.6 million liters of milk per day?”.

(See: They anticipate a rise in milk prices to farmers).

“The industry points out that, since there is no milk, it has not been able to collect. In 2019, 3,171 million liters were collected and in 2020 3,347 million liters were collected, representing an increase of 5.6% compared to 2019”, Explained the leader of the ranchers.

In addition, he added that despite the pandemic and the drop in the consumption of products with higher added value (yogurts, cheeses, butter) due to the closure of hotels, restaurants and schools, the significant growth of the fluid milk consumption (basic good) by households resulted in a very favorable balance for the total collection of 2020.

“In 2021 (between January and October) the stockpile decreased 8% when compared to the same period in 2020. However, the comparison period should not be 2020 but 2019 (normal year). In this regard, the collection between January and October 2021 decreased 1.7% compared to the same period in 2019Lafaurie said.

(See: Mexico, the destination for dairy products from 24 plants in Colombia).

The leader stated that as the industry does not process all the milk produced by Colombian farmers for cattle farmers, the situation is that “now the argument is the opposite: they say there is no milk and that they are making great efforts to provide themselves. The industry knows that of the milk produced by the Colombian livestock sector, more than 7,400 million liters per year, they do not manage to process more than 3,100 million liters of milk. In Colombia there is abundant fresh milk, enough for them to supply, transform and, of course, serve the domestic market”.

For the executive president of Fedegán, what the industry is doing is creating the perfect climate to return, the first days of January 2022, to fill the milk powder quotas authorized by the FTA with the United States.

“That is a crime against more than 300,000 small farmers. And they let so quiet. The Ministry of Agriculture cannot believe an industry that has played with the price of milk. In the first days of January we are going to mobilize farmers in some ports where the powdered milk that the industry imports enters. With this we want to show the country what the industry does with the dairy farming sector in Colombia“Lafaurie pointed out.

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