BRAZIL – Brazilian government is seeking to purchase milk powder at retail prices in a bid to support the country’s dairy farmers against imports from other countries.
The announcement made by the Brazil’s minister of Agriculture and Livestock Carlos Favaro showed that the acquisition of powdered milk by the Federal government is among a series of emergency measures to help the country’s milk producers.
“This acquisition aims to reduce the market and guarantee profitability to cooperatives and, consequently, to producers,” he said.
In relation to the importation of milk into Brazil from countries like Argentina and Uruguay, the minister noted that the agreement with Mercosur is a “sensitive” one which is receiving the “full attention” of the government.
“We sell to these countries manufactured products that give us a lot of competitiveness, gains and opportunities, but this cannot occur to the detriment of such an important chain, which generates jobs, such as the milk chain,” he said noting Mercosur as a very important trade bloc for Brazil.
In addition Favaro said that more actions will be needed for Brazil’s dairy sector including increing the adoption of more technologies for milk production.
Brazil, which is already a champion in soya production, in the export of soya, cotton, beef, pork, the minister stated that will indeed be a major world player in milk production and we have to be dedicated to make that happen.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, USDA, Brazil is the world’s sixth-largest milk producer and in a forecast period milk production in the Latin American country will increase by around 3.6% to 24.5 million metric tonnes (MMT) in 2023.
Trade data shows that milk powder imports to Brazil rose by 31% in March, with the vast majority coming from Uruguay and Argentina.
The Brazilian dairy sector is continuing to grapple with high production costs, along with unpredictable weather and economic conditions.
Meanwhile the Brazilian Administrative Council for Economic Defense has engaged with Dairy Partners America to block the sale of DPA Brazil to French dairy company Lactalis.
For all the latest food industry news from Africa and the World, subscribe to our NEWSLETTER, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, like us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
