The union conflict in Conaprole and the rise in production costs are the two realities that most concern milk producers today.
That was highlighted to The Observer by Justino Zavala, director of the Dairy Farmers Association of Canelones (ATC), after being consulted on Tuesday by a new drop in the value of dairy products on the international marketbased on trading on the Global Dairy Trade platform (see below).
Zavala specified that the drop (2.9%) “is rare”, relativizing its importance. He explained that locally the adjustment is actually viewed as a halt to the decline in price average that had been taking place since mid-March, because the expectation is that in the short term the value will begin to recover.
This is based on the perception that China, the world’s great dairy consumer, will soon return to the market to resume buying to supply itself, generating an increase in demand when world supply does not increase in the same way, which will revitalize prices.
Dairy farmers remain attentive to the international price factor, but what worries them most today is, on the one hand, the increase in production costs that “went through the roof”Zavala indicated, with very pronounced increases that weakened the price adjustments recently obtained by dairy farmers for the milk they send to the industrial complexes.
On the other hand, the trade union conflict generates great concern. still no agreement and the measures ordered by the Association of Workers and Employees of Conaprole (AOEC) continue.
“The union issue worries us a lot, all the unions, all the producers, are strongly supporting and very united with the Conaprole board of directors and demanding that it not give in to union pressure,” Zavala said.
As reported to The Observerthis Wednesday at 10:30 there will be a press conference, with the participation of producers and representatives of the dairy unions, to report on their position in relation to the union conflict “which began on April 1 and continues to cause damage to the entire production chain.
To all of the above, the producer adds a set of factors that always keep it active.
“Every time you go to the dairy you find a new problem,” Zavala said.. An employee may be absent due to a circumstantial issue and you have to solve that, a pump may fail, something may break, the cows may get sick, there may be a road to repair, there is the whole issue of food… there are always things to do , said.
And to that are added the difficulties “goalkeepers outside” already mentioned.
EO
what happened in sales
The average price invested in dairy products fell 2.9% (compared to the previous event) in the second tender in May on the Global Dairy Trade sales platform – led by the New Zealand company Fonterra – and remained at US$ 4,432 per ton.
The volume sold fell by 3.5% to 24,285 tons (with the participation of 159 bidders).
The fall was somewhat more pronounced in the category of whole milk powder, which is the product that is exported the most from Uruguay, given that it fell by 4.9% to US$ 3,934 per ton..
The adjustment of 2.9% indicated was the fifth in a row, so to locate a rise you have to go to March 1, when there was a rise –which was then the fifth in a row– in the average value of dairy products from 5.1% (for a value of US$ 5,065 per ton).
The next auction, which will be No. 309, is scheduled for Tuesday, June 7.
