Whey import tariff reduction harms milk producers in Brazil

Rio Grande do Sul federal deputy Heitor Schuch (PSB) forwarded two important agendas for the dairy industry to vice-president Geraldo Alckmin (PSB), minister of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services. The requests were made after a meeting with representatives of the Dairy Industry Union of Rio Grande do Sul (Sindilat/RS). The agendas deal with the need to review the reduction from 14% to 4% in the import rate of Protein Supplement based on Whey Protein Concentrate (WPC 80) and Whey Protein Isolate (WPI), both concentrated whey proteins, for acquisitions from countries outside Mercosur. Furthermore, the agendas address the losses caused to producers and mainly to the powdered milk and cheese industries, given the subsidies in kind granted in the milk chain in Argentina and Uruguay. “The demands are very fair and are already in the hands of Minister Alckmin. I believe there is a path to quick and definitive solutions. In my opinion, the last government made a mistake in ...