The National Federation of Dairy Industries (FeNIL) celebrated this Tuesday the 63rd International Dairy Day, in which the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Trade Reyes Maroto, representatives of the dairy industry and experts in demography, sustainability and nutrition participated. The meeting focused on analyzing the role that the sector plays in challenges as relevant as the demographic challenge, healthy eating or the industry's commitment to achieving environmental sustainability. The president of FeNIL, Ignacio Elola, has pointed out the difficult situation that the dairy sector is going through due to the current cost crisis, the effects of the invasion of Ukraine and the upward spiral in the price of energy and supplies that the industry It's been dragging for months.
Elola added that "the difficulties caused by the carrier strike, a fact that generated a lot of tension for several weeks." The main person in charge of the dairy employers has stressed that "dairy industries generate a turnover of more than 9,500 million euros per year and employ more than 30,000 people directly." Elola added that "the sector is one of the guarantors of the future of the rural world through the more than 2,000 authorized centers for the collection, handling and transformation of milk, together with the more than 19,000 farms." The president of FENIL has also called in his speech "for the loyal collaboration that we all owe each other, I am convinced that we will be able to successfully overcome the challenges that lie ahead".
For her part, the closure was carried out by Minister Reyes Maroto, who highlighted the importance and relevance of the dairy industry, which she called "a lever for social, economic and territorial structuring". Likewise, she has stated that the agri-food sector is the "main export sector in Spain, thanks to the open outlook it has, in addition to generating the best products and great talent." "The Spanish product is highly valued internationally," she added.
He has also thanked the dairy sector for the great effort it made during the pandemic to be able to supply not only the Spanish population. "We were the pantry of the European Union, which was a great challenge that the sector more than met," Maroto pointed out.
The minister also wanted to highlight the role of the rural world and the great work behind a glass of milk. She has made reference to her childhood, surrounded by pastures, cows and farms. "I come from a farming family, I even remember drinking freshly milked milk from the cow", recalled the head of Industry and highlighted that "the family is essential to have a good diet".
Reyes Maroto has highlighted the global challenges, in terms of sustainability and digitization, that the agri-food industry is facing. «We live in uncertain times, but also of great opportunities to modernize our industrial fabric. The agri-food industry is a great power, you can certainly count on the Ministry for this common project », he concluded.
