The National Society of Industries (SNI) warned that if the use of powdered milk for the production of dairy products is prohibited, a proposal made by the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation (Midagri) at the request of dairy farmers, prices for consumers would rise.
Farmers have asked the industry to raise the price of a liter of milk from S/1.20 to S/1.80 as the base price. In addition, they have requested that the product made solely from fresh milk be labeled as evaporated milk, so the use of powdered milk would be limited. That would be the change in the regulation of milk.
On the other hand, the Dairy Committee of the National Society of Industries (SNI) points out that this measure would threaten consumers, investments and the nutrition of Peruvian families.
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“The attempt to prohibit the use of powdered milk for the production of evaporated milk is a populist measure that threatens family nutrition. It is through the use of powdered milk that it is possible to cover the deficit in the production of quality national raw milk. The national raw milk production barely covers 71% of the national demand. If the milk deficit cannot be covered, prices for consumers will increase, “he said in a statement.
This deficit forces the country to import powdered milk of the highest quality and safety, necessary for the production of evaporated milk, the country’s main dairy product, adds the SNI.
Technical Standards
The dairy industry bases its arguments on Law No. 31296-Law for the Promotion of Productive Livestock-Dairy Farming, which establishes in its article 5 the obligation of the entities that make up the public administration to carry out actions aimed at promoting the development and strengthening of the livestock-dairy production chain, guaranteeing in subsection b) the implementation of requirements and controls on the nutritional quality of milk and dairy products, in accordance with the Codex Alimentarius and the corresponding regulations.
Along these lines, the international standard established by the Codex does not establish a distinction between powdered milk and raw (fluid) milk as raw material for the production of products that can be called “milk: A product that contains powdered milk as raw material. cousin does not stop being milk.
However, what the dairy farmers point out is that the milk regulations apply the technical standards for the production of dairy products of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and not from Codex Alimentariusas indicated by the industry.
National Strike of Ranchers
Within the framework of the debate on the modification of this Law, on Tuesday, March 15, the Association of Dairy Farmers of Peru (Agalep) carried out the national strike in response to the high costs of inputs for the production of evaporated milk.
The mobilization took place in different provinces such as Lima, Arequipa and Puno, where roadblocks were carried out by dairy farmers.
