The current shortage of milk in Tunisia is mainly originated in the late revision of producer prices and consumption. Several farmers have preferred to release a speculation that is no longer profitable. Those who persist get their money by selling their milk to cheese and in the informal peri-where prices are lower.
Even with the last price revision the situation will not improve, since several factors: i) we are in full season of low production, ii) most of the cows culled in 2007 were not renewed, iii) a sale of dairy heifers whose anarchic the outcome is uncertain.
A delay price adjustment in addition i) the operation of the drying unit of milk that has drained more than 12 million liters in 2007 ii) the export of milk during the month of May to neighboring countries to the detriment of the stock market regulator iii) delay in decision making regarding the importation of milk iv) the absence of serious measures against law enforcement and the informal sector which currently drain hundreds of thousands of gallons per day.
The year 2008 will be a pivotal year for the dairy industry and will see the revival of this sector towards a brighter future if the government release the sale price to the consumer and entrust the drying unit of milk a regulator. Both decisions are critical to the viability of a fragile production system and certainly requires fundamental reform (legal framework, elimination of the informal sector, upgrading Cheese Factory, encourage dairy farms over 50 cows, revision of the mapping milk production ...).