According to the OPCA bulletin of the University of Córdoba, in the first 3 months of 2024 13.2 million liters were collectedwhich represents a decrease of 27.5% compared to the previous quarter (September-December 2023), when 18.2 million liters were reached.
However, despite this quarterly decline, the figure for the first quarter of 2024 exceeded by 6.4% the amount collected during the same period last year, when 12.4 million liters were acquired. (Read in WITHlivestock context: Milk collection in Córdoba and Sucre continues to break an upward trend at the start of 2024)
According to the data, Córdoba concentrated 79% of the total milk collected, while Sucre represented the remaining 21%. The increase compared to the same quarter of 2023 was mainly due to biggest purchases in Sucrewhere they were acquired 500,000 additional litersand in Córdoba, with an increase of 300,000 liters.
The collection is usually lower in the first quarter of the year due to the seasonality of the rains, which affect production in grazing livestock. Historically, The quarters with the least milk collection are the first (January-March) and the fourth (September-December)while the intermediate quarters (April-June and July-September) usually record higher collection volumes due to more abundant rains.
Price per liter of raw milk in the 1st quarter of 2024
Regarding prices, as of March 1, 2024, a 3.56% readjustment in the price of raw milk decreed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development came into effect. As a result, the nominal price without bonus increased by Cordova to $1,825 per literin Sucre at $1,790 per literin the Caribbean region at $1,821 per liter already national level at $1,743 per liter. This growing behavior has been going on since 2019.
However, the current price with bonus decreased in Córdoba, the Caribbean region and at the national level, while in Sucre it registered a slight increase. «In general at all these territorial levels has been declining since the second quarter of the previous year», noted the bulletin. (Read in WITHlivestock context: The economic sustainability of milk producers in Córdoba and Sucre is in question)
As we have mentioned, voluntary bonuses have shown a decrease since last year, when they reached peaks of almost $950 additional per liter, when in years prior to 2022 they barely exceeded $100. In the latest report from the Milk Price Monitoring Unit (USP), these fell to a national average of $200 per liter.
The OPCA recalled that Fedegán and the authorities agreed to implement public policy measures to support the dairy sector, a $4 billion package to encourage domestic purchases of liquid milk and reduce milk imports.
