By The Star Staff
At a meeting held in the office of Sen. Keren Riquelme Cabrera, the main players in the regulation and production of fresh milk in Puerto Rico clarified several premises that, in the opinion of the island’s Agriculture secretary, had been a matter of speculation.
The meeting was attended by the agriculture secretary, Ramón González Bieró; Milk Producers Association President Manuel Martínez; Milk Producers Cooperative Executive Director Julio Meléndez; and Tres Monjitas General Manager Orlando González; as well as several cattle ranchers.
According to those attending the meeting, supplies of fresh milk are expected to return to 98% and 99% by Monday and Tuesday of next week, the level that existed before the current cycle of shortages. That is despite the fact that about 10 percent of the milk used in fresh milk production is imported from the state of Florida and delays in transportation are expected due to the impact of Hurricane Milton.
“The aim of this meeting was to find solutions,” Riquelme said. “According to what we were [told] at the meeting, one of the reasons for returning to the regular supply of fresh milk is a scheduled closure of the Suiza Dairy plant for maintenance. The milk assigned to this company would then go to Tres Monjitas, thus increasing the production of fresh milk since at the moment they are the only ones that produce this product in Puerto Rico.”
“The concern of the [dairy farmers] regarding what is being paid for the production of a quart [of fresh milk] was also raised at the meeting, which is fair according to the costs that this implies for a dairy farm,” she added.
According to information provided by the senator, the results of an economic production study required by the Department of Agriculture to analyze prices are expected in the coming weeks.
Another challenge facing the industry, which Riquelme promised to investigate, is the cost of grain to feed cattle and the permanent closure of one of three grain mills in Puerto Rico. Riquelme emphasized that “we have to preserve the dairy industry and what better way to do it than by supporting our cattle farmers in the process.”
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