New Commission To Set Milk’s Political Strategy

Milk producers and dairy companies have reached an agreement the Ministry of Agricultural Development to establish short, medium and long-term political strategy for Panama’s dairy sector.

A newly-created National Milk Commission will search out ways to raise milk awareness and consumption, as well as assess milk quotas and tariffs.

The president of the Association of Dairy Cattle Producers and organizer of the XV National Milk Congress, Luis Carlos Alvarez, said the main focus of the Commission is to get producers to increase milk production in the face of the country’s milk deficit.

According to statistics, Panama produces around 160 million liters of milk a year although approximately 300 million liters are consumed.  The difference comes from New Zealand’s Fonterra cooperative.

The Chiriqui Province produces 52% of all domestic milk or 85 million gallons of Grade A and B milk annually.  The Azuero region produces the rest, focusing more on Grade C milk, La Critica reports. Panama’s milk brands include Bonlac, Estrella Azul, Nevada and La Chiricana.