By Elida Thiery (exclusive for The Global Dairy) – Breathing the country air of «El Umbral» in Expoagro, the National Government thought it could quiet the waters of the dairy sector with an announcement made by Ricardo Buryaile, replicated by Mauricio Macri himself. The idea is that the government buys, not as social milk, but as capital to go out and negotiate with foreign markets. Far from the idealization that the media protection of the Ministry of Agro Industry developed in the middle of the week, nothing is concrete; much less that crazy estimation to reach out Venezuela, while the political tug is imposed on business and the needs of both sides, including food and oil.
Under this framework, the week before the center of the dairy industry met another of their meetings, where debate was present.
While many of the differences from the previous year were left behind, which are not ruled out of returning, hand-in-hand with what will be the future joint negotiation in which an exorbitant request of the dairy sector is expected, under the authority to ask for anything and much more with all the concessions that are limited to industries, the dialogue is going on unifying intentions from the largest companies.
The responsible for exports that makes up the entity were every specific about the materiality of having a single firm market, such as the Brazilian one, which has been severally affected by the lack of own milk products due to the climatic consequences of “El Niño”, along with very heavy rains in the center-south region and drought towards the north region.
Anyway it’s been several years since the situation between parties is not good. From that conflict with the automotive industry and with the foundations established during the kirchnerism along with its intention to close borders, large-sized industries made a bad business; they accepted a share of sales with Portuguese accent. Besides the 3,600 tons enabled for trading between parties, this March were added other 600 which makes outflow expand slightly, but not enough so to how to decompress the total produced.
Meanwhile, SMEs aspire to a little more than their fraction of 300 tons and that is the reason of another of the many gentle pulling between CIL and Apymel.
That’s why the intention of «intervention» of the State presents more doubts than certainties, which are not believed to be dissipated by Ricardo Buryaile this Tuesday afternoon, convened during the weekend, when in front of entities of different links in the chain will try to at least clarify how many tons the “Ejecutivo” will buy, since the cliques of Expoagro range from 20 to 40,000 units of measure weight.
There are many who believe it would be more feasible that at any time a positive evaluation of the previous administration by the UnderSecretariat of Lecheria could be made, and that it should be done in an agile and effective way. Some make more cruel comparisons, though funny, about the protagonists of the sector and what they cannot do.
In short, the phrase that remains from the industrial area is very clear, «if they want to buy powdered milk now so we can pay once four pesos per liter and then go back with the prices let the milk be kept by Sammartino».
Both producers and industry require more concrete definitions of the dairy policy. Not swipes or occasional ads that already much harm did to the sector.
Today in Villa Maria and Entre Rios, on Wednesday in the Santa Fe town of Nuevo Torino, farmers will prepare the ground for what promises to be a national dairy strike in a week from now. This is the sign of discomfort.
The key point to keep in mind is the following, if the government rethought since December the strategy to derive to the dairy sector about 600 million pesos for compensation, as was recognized by the Minister of Finance on that day in Venado Tuerto, how fast it may disburse several billion to cover all these tons of surplus that the industry nowadays has?
Times will prove us all right, with all the scenarios that have to offer.
Elida Thiery for www.lecherialatina.com