With the union conflict headed towards a way out –at least it is on pause–, after a small productive spring in May –with an increase in referrals to the plants in relation to the same month last year–, the tamberos focus their concern on two obstacles that loom on the horizon.
one is a eventual adjustment in the price they receive from Conaprole for milk and another the Difficulties that are foreseen to comply with payments committed for the closing of winter and spring.
Justino Zavala, director of the Association of Tamberos de Canelones (ATC), commented to The Observer that there is a fixed price, but valid only until July 31.
“For later, there are no certainties, rather there are announcements of difficulties in maintaining the price, which has little chance of maintaining itself,” he lamented.
The price
Based on data from the National Milk Institute (Inale), in May, on average, the producer received $17.5 per liter (US$0.45), 7% more than the value obtained in December 2022, both in currency national as American. In relation to May of last year, the value is 2% lower in pesos and 3% higher in dollars.
At the moment the price in dollars “is very good”, fully supported by sales to Brazil, which “is very unlikely” to continue buying in volume and at recent values.
Therefore, supplemented, if other markets do not react, especially China, “what there is is a logical concern”.
At the same time, he considered the producers are heavily indebted and in the coming months the quotas will begin to fall and many will not be able to comply, financially from July there will be difficulties and although there are some lines, not all can go or decide to go to the banks, we will have to find a way around it”.
What generates the most concern is the combination of both problems, so “if there is a price drop, we hope it will be less to hold out as well as possible,” he said.
Regarding production, Zavala commented that the last month of what is considered to be the most complicated time of winter is entering, given that in August, although timidly, the spring of the dairy begins to take shape.
“Productively we are not so badObviously, the lack of water that hits Montevideo so hard for dairy farmers in winter is not such a bad thing, a dry winter in a dairy is something positive and since there were some rains –although light, from 10 to 20 mm– they were useful and taken advantage of, by not living now with the problem of high temperatures that generate a lot of evaporation, the humidity in the soil is maintained and thus the growth of the pastures, with good responses after some very intense frosts that occurred and hit the pastures ”, detailed.
the latest data
1. Remission in May 2023, 3% higher than in that month of 2022, reaching 170 million liters
2. Remission in January-May 2023, 2.2% less than in that period of 2022, reaching 728 million liters
3. Remission in the last 12 months, 1.6% less than in the previous 12 months, reaching 2,073 million liters
Source: Inale
John Samuelle
Tambo El Chivo, in San José.
