Ecuador’s Cattle Industry proposes solutions on the Milk Whey restrictions

Seventy-one cattle ranchers from the Coast, Sierra and Amazon, and four dairy companies sent a letter to President Lenin Moreno asking for a final decision on the marketing and use of milk whey.

His request comes after the moratorium prohibiting the commercialization of this by-product of milk for six months ended on August 25 and in the absence of an official ruling from the Ministry of Agriculture and Foreign Trade and Investment.

Galo Izurieta, the representative of Pasteurizadora Quito, said the moratorium benefited milk producers and increased their consumption. Before the measure, the farmer received between $ 0.20 and $ 0.25 per liter of milk, while during the term of the moratorium the price improved to $ 0.50, he explained.

The representative of the farmers, Luis López, said that “whey has taken 1 million liters to the production of the field” and that consequently there is illiquidity in the sector.

Roberto Merino, president of the Holstein Association of Ecuador, said that the sector strongly opposes the mixing of pure milk with whey and raises three main requests that support the proposal by the Ministry of Agriculture. First, that white milk drinks are banned to prevent consumers from getting confused with pure milk.

Second, dairy beverages (containing whey) have color, flavor and a higher protein level than milk. And third, that whey is sold in powder form so that it complies with food safety standards. The signatories do not oppose the use of whey since it is rich in nutrients, but they propose that the industries that use it use it in other types of products such as pastries or sports supplements that even “would have greater profitability,” said Merino.

This Journal requested a statement from the Ministry of Agriculture and Foreign Trade but so far no response has been given. The four signatory dairy industrial companies of the menu are: Pasteurizer Quito, Nutrileche, Indulac, Carchi Dairy Industry, and El Ordeño.

Together they sell 950,000 liters of pure milk daily. The unions also represent 271,000 producers.

Source: El Telégrafo