In El Salvador, the Cooperativa Ganadera de Sonsonate invested in the purchase of specialized machinery that will be used to pasteurize dairy products and to package the products.
According to information disclosed by executives of the Cooperativa Ganadera de Sonsonate, Salud, the industrial plant will now have a filling machine with a capacity to package 6,000 liters per hour.
From January to June 2020, trade in milk and dairy products between Central American countries totaled $183 million, 19% more than what was recorded in the same period of 2019.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with the graph"]
In Costa Rica, the cooperative Coopeleche increased by 25% the volume of raw material sold to the Mexican Lala, a rise that would be explained by the better positioning of the company in the local market.
In general, volumes produced have increased, since official figures detail that between 2017 and 2018, milk production in Costa Rica grew by 1.5%, going from 1.14 million to 1.16 million tons.
From January to March of this year, trade in milk and dairy products between the countries of the region totaled $78 million, 2% more than in the same period in 2018.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphic"]
In the first half of the year, trade in milk and dairy products between Central American countries totaled $151 million, and more than 40% was bought by companies in El Salvador.
Figures from the information system on the Milk and Dairy Market in Central America complied by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphic"]
According to the sector's union, in 2017 consumption of milk and its derivatives reached 212 liters per capita, 33% above the level recommended by international health agencies.
According to the National Chamber of Milk Producers (Caprole), growth in milk production recorded in the country in recent years, is explained by an increase in domestic demand and a rise in exports to Central America and the Caribbean.
In 2017, trade in milk and dairy products among countries in the region amounted to $306 million, 2% more than what was sold in 2016, and the highest value in the last six years.
Figures from the Information System on the Milk and Milk Products Market in Central America, compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption = "Click to interact with graph"]
Honduran farmers are looking for alternatives to commercialize milk in the Salvadoran market, by giving sanitary certification to artisanal dairy plants.
In light of an oversupply of milk that is affecting the Honduran livestock sector, producers are looking for neighboring markets where they can export milk.They report that many of the plants in Honduras are not receiving the surplus product because they do not have the capacity to process it.
A report by the SIECA shows the composition and characteristics of the production and export of dairy products in Central American countries.
From the report "Analysis of the Central American dairy market and its derivatives", by the SIECA:
Dairy products constitute a wide range of goods that are important for human consumption, and contribute to the development of local economic activities linked to extraction, processing, industrialization and commercialization.The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that about 150 million households are engaged in milk production and more than 6 billion people are consumers of milk and milk products.
Nestlé's announcement that it will stop buying C-grade milk from producers from Veraguas reflects the growing loss of market share for local milk to imported products.
Growth in imports of milk and its substitutes continues to take away market share from Panamanian milk producers.In the case of Nestlé Panama, the company reported that"imports of milk substitutes by third parties has caused a decrease in the consumption of certain lines of their dairy products."For this reason, the company will stop buying 16 thousand liters of C milk per week from producers from Veraguas.
The Mexican company Lala plans to invest $14 million in the expansion of its plant in Alajuela and to start selling milk and ice cream in the Costa Rican market, starting from 2018.
The investments being made in Central America by companies in the dairy industry reflect the growth potential of this business in the region, where per capita consumption of milk and dairy products has been growing during the last years.
A local problem between Honduran farmers and pasteurizing plants due to the price at which they purchase milk could be the reason behind the block on Nicaraguan dairy products.
Trinchera.com.ni reports that according to the National Federation of Ranchers and Farmers of Honduras (FENAGH), closing the border to milk and dairy products from Nicaragua will continue until there is a resolution to the problem between pasteurizing plants and dairy farmers, who have denounced the low prices paid for the product in plants.
In 2015 Nicaragua led exports of milk and milk products in the region, with $200 million in sales, followed by Costa Rica, which exported $111 million and thirdly Honduras, with $26 million.
Data from for the Milk and Dairy Products Market in Central America, provided by the Business Intelligence unit at CentralAmericaData.com, shows that in 2015 the countries in the region exported 226 thousand tons of milk and dairy products such as cheese and cottage cheese, buttermilk, yogurt, curd and dairy spreads, among others.
The total amount of exported kilos of milk rose from 76 million in 2013 to 92 million in 2014, with the number one destination being Central America, mainly Guatemala and El Salvador.
Data from the National Chamber of Milk Producers (Caprole) indicates that after Guatemala and El Salvador, the rest of the isthmus is the main market for exports of Costa Rican milk, but the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Venezuela are beginning to have greater preponderance among the markets where milk produced in Costa Rica arrives.