A tense situation is experienced in the Colombian dairy sector between producers and buyers, when the former accuse, at the head of Fedegan and Analac, to the latter, to reduce the purchase price to farmers and to set purchase quotas to restrict the quantities of milk to be received with respect to those that they had been collecting.
But, what is the heart of the matter and why was this riff-raff that led to the mediation of the ministries of Commerce and Agriculture, among other entities.
(It may interest you: Alpina’s response to ranchers in fight over milk prices)
What do producers accuse companies of?
The Analac and Fedegán guilds say that the milk processors, including Alpina, they lowered the final purchase price to the ranchers by up to 5% and set delivery quotas 10% below their usual volume, dropping the income of at least 300,000 small producers by 14.5%.
How much milk do they say has been imported?
The unions say that between January and May 40,000 tons of powdered milk were imported, stopping buying more than half of fresh milk from the country’s ranchers.
What was the complaint about Alpina?
According to Analac, Alpina lowered the price per liter and reduced the purchase of milk from the producer by 10%, arguing the pandemic.
What does Alpina answer?
The company, whose plant is in Sopó (Cundinamarca), said that it has not imported 40,000 tons of milk, but only 1,800 tons, to supply in the drought at the beginning of the year and for preparations that require powdered milk.
How much milk does Alpina buy from farmers?
According to the company, each day it buys 1.2 million liters from ranchers, 3,500 producers.
Is it true that milk consumption has decreased?
Alpina cited figures from the Nielsen firm, according to which the purchase of milk in the country has dropped between 10% and 15%.
What has Alpina done to mitigate the situation?
Alpina points out that it has increased to its maximum capacity the inventories of bagged milk, the production and storage of matured cheeses, has pulverized 2 million liters to date and has donated 4 million units of milk to vulnerable populations.
Did Alpina stop buying from producers?
Yes, and it was a product of the storage capacity being copied and the demand has not absorbed the stocks. Therefore, some ranchers in the savannah of Bogotá and Cundinamarca decided to stop selling to this company.
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