Although milk inventories are high, producer costs have increased and household consumption of this product has been decreasing for three years, Liquid prices for the final consumer continue to growwhich accentuates the problem of low consumption, warn the producers, who have already told the Government about the need to implement urgent measures to mitigate this situation.
“Asoleche has been warning about the sustained drop in the consumption of dairy products and their derivatives in Colombia. The data shows that in 2022, milk consumption fell 9 percent and in 2023, it fell 6 percent. AND After almost 24 consecutive months of decline, household spending on milk and milk products continues without showing a recovery. “2024 began with stagnant spending for the category, showing a variation of just 1.3 percent in March,” warned Nelson Guerrero Lozano, president of the board of directors of the Colombian Association of Milk Processors (Asoleche), at the recent congress held in Medellín.
For the manager, it is necessary to make a judicious examination of the causes of this slowdown, since only in this way can effective solutions be designed and implemented, based on an open and active conversation between all actors, both public and private, since what is At stake is a productive chain that contributes 790,000 jobs nationwide to the Colombian economy.
Household consumption has not only been affected by high product prices but also by lower purchasing capacity, which has contributed to increasing inventories in this industry.
But he is not the only manager in the sector who has raised alarms about the crisis facing the national dairy industry. From the Colombian Federation of Livestock Farmers (Fedegán), his directives have warned about the serious situation that the entire dairy chain is going through. Your president, José Félix Lafaurie has insisted on the need to create a fund for consumption, the public purchase of milk and the implementation of promotional campaigns that stimulate milk consumption.for which he said they can count on the support of and the management of Fedegán.
The situation is so worrying that Asoleche once again insisted to the Government about the urgency of adopting measures to reverse the current trends that this industry has been bringing for three years and that has had businessmen and consumers in serious difficulties.
In a letter sent this week to Jhenifer Mojica Flórez, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, the directors of Asoleche, led by Ana María Gómez Montes, its president, insisted that this industry “faces a monumental challenge that demands an urgent reaction to through measures to overcome the crisis and ensure the sustainability of all links in the chain. Asoleche insists on coordination to implement immediate actions to revitalize this vital sector for the country’s economy and nutrition.
Among these measures is the expansion of the conditions to participate in public purchasing, auction and export incentive programs, in order to energize the market. Also the purchase of surpluses at special prices that allow inventories to be evacuated for export.
In his letter, Gómez Montes stressed the urgency of making technical adjustments to dairy production to adapt volumes to current demand, while insisting that a campaign to stimulate consumption be carried out in which both the government and the sector participate. private.
According to the most recent report presented by the Colombian Observatory of the Dairy Industry (OCILAC), Only 52 percent of company managers in the sector believe that their organizations will grow in the next five years, affected mainly by foreign competition and production costs.
Under this scenario, Laura Sandoval, manager of OCILCAC, said that “it is urgent that the public and private sectors join forces to promote growth in the national and international market, as well as deepen agreements with countries that turn out to be the natural market for the products.” products of the Colombian dairy chain,” said the expert for whom “in the short term, the deepening of trade relations with Venezuela is an opportunity.”
