During the pandemic, milk consumption grew sharply in Colombia, resulting in increased use of inventories and increased imports. This situation led to an increase in the price of the product. According to a report by the Economic, Sector and Market Research Department of the Bancolombia Group, in the year 2022 the increase was 37%.
The aforementioned document states that in the first months of 2023, the economic consumption of users shows a strong deceleration. And the dairy sector does not escape this reality, since the increase in the price of milk is being reflected in sales.
This is evidenced by annual sales declines in October (2.8%), November (9.4%) and December (8.3%) of 2022, as reported by the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE).
Milk collection
Another point touched upon in the Bancolombia report, entitled "In 2023 the consumer will be the key player in the dairy business."The figures for collection, i.e. the process of transferring the milk and processing it in pasteurization centers to be later marketed, are highlighted.
In this regard, the text points out that in Antioquia, the main producer of milk In Colombia, storage increased by only 1%, in contrast to other departments, such as Boyacá, which grew by 17%, and Nariño, which grew by 9%. "The month-to-month behavior has started to change; while from June to October the stockpile grew between 10% and 13% (annual variation), by November the increase was only 2.7%, which could be reflecting the lower appetite for purchases by the processing industry."the report reads.
The outlook for the rest of the year
Despite the unfavorable figures, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development stated that for the remainder of 2023 the market is expected to remain stable. For its part, the National Association of Milk Producers indicated that milk prices should not go up this year because an increase was already given in December 2022.
Finally, we would like to remind you that milk is one of the most complete foods that exist, it helps strengthen bones and teeth and reduces the risk of osteoporosis. It provides nutrients such as calcium, proteins, vitamins A, B1, B2, B12 and D.
