The new president of the National Federation of Dairy Industries (Fenil), Ernesto Castro, is in favor of extending the VAT exemption “for as long as possible” and extending it to dairy products such as yogurt to address “inflation.” that consumers “suffer”.
In an interview, and in the context of World Milk Day being celebrated today, Castro alludes to this measure that, in principle, will be in force until next June 30 -unless the Government decides to extend it- and that it applies to basic foods such as milk and cheese.
What’s more, it defends that, once this exceptional period of reduction and exemption from VAT on some foods has passed, Dairy products that now have 10% VAT, such as yogurts, will definitely remain at 4%.
Asked about his management at the head of the industry, he is committed to a continuous line to continue with the objectives that the Federation has set, collected in a decalogue published a year ago.
He explains that it is a decalogue that can be summarized in three main objectives: improve the competitiveness of the sector, promote measures to ensure the production and processing of its dairy products in Spain and defend its nutritional value.
The dairy industry analyzes why the increase in prices at origin -in the months in which inflation significantly affected the milk production chain- has not translated into an incentive to increase production volume.
This, according to Castro, has led them to the conclusion that “price is not the only thing that determines the volume of production”, but that there are “deeper causes”, some of which are “obvious” such as “lack of generational change.”
The federation maintains that this increase in milk value chain causes The industry is going through a “difficult” period because it has not had the same capacity to pass on all the increase in costs.
Ensure that there is sufficient domestic milk production is important for Fenil, not only to guarantee supply to the Spanish consumer, but also to be able to boost your exports: “We have the conditions and quality to do it” and it is necessary to “participate in that great international market” for dairy foods.
For this, yes, Companies have to be “truly competitive.”
As for the imports and, with special focus on the important entry of cheesebelieves that each liter of foreign dairy that enters represents a loss of income for the national livestock farmer and affects employment in the industry, according to the Efe agency.
On the other hand, and regarding the valorization of these products, Castro defends thate have an “indisputable” value and, therefore, he is in favor of “giving access to a greater extent”, especially to young people because they are “the consumers of the future.”
They are “complete” foods that “have been adapted to the different nutritional needs” of the population, “from children, to the elderly or to people with lactose intolerance,” he adds.
In the context of the imminent european elections, Castro demands that political formations know transfer the “needs of the agri-food sector” to community institutions.
It is something “very important” because we are “affected by the decisions that are made in Brussels” and that “are then transferred to national legislation,” he points out.
Precisely, underlines the “impact” that community legislation has especially for livestock farmersbecause “many” cannot meet “so many requirements, not having enough structure.”
As you remember, they are farms that need “very important aid to be able to adapt to environmental requirements” and it is a livestock farm that is “the best protector of the environment there is (…) because they make a living from it.”
And he explains that the Spanish dairy industry works to be “increasingly sustainable” because “it is trying to reduce water consumption or greenhouse gas emissions.”
