A new chapter is being written at this time regarding Historical Veronica dairy industry. Although the company has been experiencing a production struggle for months, in the past few hours the demands of dairy producers who deliver their raw materials to the factory have intensified. They claim that they are on the verge of bankruptcy due to the debts incurred and many of them are closing dairy farms.
About 150 Santa Fe dairy producers are banding together in a lawsuit against the company’s owners, to try to get money for the goods they deliver. The situation is tragic for dairy farmers, as the activity requires milking every day and delivering the produce, Something Veronica took, made, and sold that didn’t pay what was agreed upon.
Dairy farmers estimate that in total, The company owes about $60 million As payment for the goods received, which in pesos means a total debt of about 90 billion pesos.
Lácteos Verónica: Influence within the portals
A big number is a big number, but it finds a bigger impact inside the gates. Dairy farming is an activity that needs constant reinvestment, as well as being the most cultural and traditional field activity, and dairy farmers sustain themselves through the daily sale of milk.
Many dairy farmers acquired the field from their grandparents, fathers or uncles, and the last option is always to close the dairy. However, many dairy farmers who delivered milk in the last three months are closing the dairy plant and dedicating the field to growing crops, since then. There are those who are accused of debts of up to 900 million pesos for raw materialsThey will have to undo years of tradition in order to reach a bad deal.
Leaving before the complete collapse: producers’ decision
Cecilia Sidran is an agricultural producer from San Gennaro, Santa Fe. She is one of the many victims of Veronica’s financial collapse, although in her case she manages to limit the damage to one month of production. “Fortunately, we made the decision very quickly. In the first month we heard a fairly certain noise, we decided to leave.”related.
As he explained, the problems started in the middle of the year: “In June, July, when the milk collection dates started getting longer and longer, and then there came a time when the checks started bouncing right away. Some dates paid, some didn’t, and in the end they didn’t pay anything anymore.”
This climate of rumors took concrete form as the weeks passed. He explained, “Noise from the factory had been heard for years, but there was nothing specific at all. And this time security is no longer there.” In your case, The debt accumulated in just 30 days was about 15 to 20 million pesos. “I am a very small producer”He explained.
Dairy can’t wait
Unlike other agricultural activities that allow for the storage of goods, dairying lives from day to day. “Dairy can’t wait, you have to milk every day. Produce is taken out every day, and you can’t store milk and expect to solve this problem. “We hold hands and feet.”Description.
The possibility of transporting production was not easy either. Due to the decision to stop sending production to Veronica, they had to look for other industries in the area, although this is not a simple solution, as the industries have their own quotas for the production of dairy products. “The nearest factory, in Centeno, came at a time when they said: ‘I don’t drink milk anymore’. And there, where do you go? It’s not easy to move somewhere else.” count.
But the problem was much deeper for those who continued to give birth for several months. There are producers who haven’t been paid for three months. “They had to go out and sell the animals and close the dairy because they had no way to pay off the debt with their suppliers.” Producer stated.
Barrels are closed and never opened again
Sidran was firm about what lowering the curtains at the dairy facility meant. “The dairy that is closing tomorrow will not reopen. In many cases it is never opened again. “You take the animals, the infrastructure, and an entire production circus that takes years to build,” he explained.
In addition, he noted that access to credit to rebuild a dairy farm is very limited. “It doesn’t mean you take a seven-year loan to buy cows. They are stomachs, and they have no way of holding collateral for the commodity. Loans are difficult and they ask for collateral which you often don’t get.”He pointed out.
Even the largest institutions are left on the brink. In the region, the case of a producer who was delivering 5,000 liters per day and was owed about 160 million pesos was mentioned. “It has been delivered to the factory for 40 years.”He pointed out. In comparison, it produced about 1,500 liters per day.
Millionaire and asymmetric debt
Based on the information that was handled by the producers themselves, The company’s liabilities are huge. There is about $60 million in total debt. Of this, 30% is for producers. The remainder is distributed among transportation, suppliers, employees and other industry liabilities.
Within the dairy farmer group, the situation is very mixed. “You have someone who owes 20 million like me and someone who owes 900 million.”“, detail. In total, there will be around 150 producers affected between the areas of Totoras, Classon, Lehmann and Suardi.
Promises waiting in the heat and no answer
The relationship with the company owners has completely deteriorated. Sidran recounted a failed attempt at dialogue with Alejandro Espinera. “We received a message that he was at the factory. We were the producers, we waited two hours, and they didn’t want to serve us. When most of them left, he just went out and talked to two or three. He said: “So he asked for patience.”
But the response was not enough. “How much patience? No desire to dialogue or push. Nothing.” He said. He also noted that the factory is not operating normally: “They send their own milk elsewhere and process milk from third parties.”
There have even been rumors of possible agreements with other companies to work together. “They told me that these contracts will expire in January,” Tampera warned. “After that, we don’t know what will happen.”
One of the most confusing points among producers is the refusal of factory owners to abandon their factories in order to face debts. As is known, There are many large companies that intend to buy Veronica, the most prominent of which are two foreign companies and one national.
The claim that you don’t want to remain silent
Sidran emphasized that the producers feel that their drama has become invisible in the face of labor conflict. “No one remembers the producers,” he warned. “The world thinks the producer has a way forward, but no: a lot of dairy farms have closed, and production will never recover again.”
In addition, he warned of the structural damage caused by this crisis. He added, “When the factory reopens, it will also be difficult to collect liters of milk again and restore work sources.” He pointed out.
His testimony sums up the tragedy of a sector that was trapped between promises of payment, rejected checks, and a company that showed no tangible signs of resolution. Meanwhile, dozens of dairy farms are silently turning off their equipment, driven by the debt they never stopped generating through work every day.