:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/grupoclarin/YCNA6BH55VFRLIGDJX7WT3EF6M.jpg "In 2023 milk production fell, what is the estimate for 2024?")
Milk production in the local market fell 2% year-on-year in 2023, reaching a volume of 11,326.6 million liters, due to the effects of the drought and the distortions and cost increases that were recorded last year in the sector, indicated the Argentine Dairy Chain Observatory (Ocla).
For 2024, the entity projected a new drop, in this case of 2.8%, which would place the volume just above 11,000 million liters.
Measured in useful solids (butyrous fat + protein), in 2023 the year-on-year decrease in the volume produced was 2.1% since solids went from 7.17% in 2022 to 7.16%.
The causes of the fall in milk production in Argentina
According to the organization’s work, the drought that affected the country during 2022 and much of last year, together with a general increase in production costs, explained the decline.
“2023 began with widespread dryness in all regions that continued until the end of the year. This generated a lack of pastures and forage reserves in both quantity and quantity and we had to resort to purchasing food outside the establishments,” the work indicated.
Thus, “the different versions of the soybean dollar produced increases in prices of concentrates and rents. The strong inflationary and devaluation process, added to the aspects described above, extraordinarily increased production costs that were not compensated by the increases in milk prices to the producer.”
Despite this panorama, “production had a slight drop that, analyzed by productive stratum, shows that the largest productive units sustained production throughout the year above the previous year.”