Indecopi announces market study to assess competition in the dairy sector

The National Institute for the Defense of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (Indecopi) announced the start of a market study to analyze the competitive conditions of the Peruvian dairy sector, which includes the stage of livestock production to the marketing of final products to the consumer.

Along these lines, the National Directorate for Research and Promotion of Free Competition (DLC) presented a launch report, in which it identified a set of potential risks to competition at different levels of the dairy chain.

Julián Palacín, head of the institution, said that the results of this evaluation will generate greater transparency about distribution and commercial practices, in favor of large and small producers.

“The chain of production and commercialization of milk in Peru presents a market structure concentrated at the level of the collection and industrial transformation of fresh milk, which has been sustained over time. For this reason, for the DLC, this situation deserves to be analyzed to identify the factors that would explain this condition and what impact they could have on competition in this market, ”the regulatory body’s statement said.

The authority also highlighted that, with these actions, the institution continues to demonstrate its commitment to strengthening free competition in the different sectors of the economy, “promoting a culture of competition and contributing to development for the well-being of consumers.”

For the preparation of the study, Indecopi awaits the formulation of comments and feedback from the different public and private actors linked to the sector, in order to take them into account and analyze them for the presentation of the final report, which would be published in the third quarter of the 2022.

For this reason, all interested agents (companies, dairy associations or cooperatives, public entities, research centers, academics and independent professionals, consumer associations, as well as business associations) are invited to participate in this research, by sending of comments to the DLC.

Indecopi: milk competition in Peru

• According to information provided by the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation (Midagri), the annual per capita consumption of milk in Peru was 81 kilograms during 2020.
• The consumption and expenditure of milk within the consumption basket of Peruvian households is important: it represents about 6% within the expenditure on food, surpassed only by chicken meat, fruits and rice.
• Among the main types of milk produced and consumed in the country, is evaporated milk and, to a lesser extent, pasteurized milk. At the level of dairy derivatives, there are yogurts and cheeses.
• The production of fresh raw milk is mainly concentrated in three dairy basins (located in the north, center and south of the country), which generate more than 60% of the national production.
• The large dairy industry acquires 50% of this production, while 40% is acquired by the artisanal dairy industry. The remaining 10% is intended for the consumption of livestock families and veal (feeding of calves).