Venezuela’s Power Cuts Push 80% of Milk into Cheese
Antonio Escalona, Unagandes’s president, estimates that Venezuela produces between 7.5m and 7.6m litres of milk a day. The estimate draws on information from 2025 and the first seven months of 2026, but is not an official consolidated statistic. It combines available records with estimates because many small and micro-producers sell locally or consume their milk themselves without entering formal reporting systems.
Unagandes estimates that roughly four-fifths of national output is currently processed by cheese-makers. About 15% is said to reach pasteurising or milk-powder plants, while the remaining 5% goes to whey, butter, ricotta, cream and yoghurt. The proportions describe the destination of the milk rather than a complete official account of production.
The first difficulty arises immediately after milking. Milk must be cooled quickly, and several hours without electricity can disrupt the refrigeration needed at farms and during transport. Some producers own cooling equipment but lack a generator. Others have generators but cannot secure enough diesel to operate them. “There are many producers who have a refrigeration system and do not have a power plant,” said Gómel José Sierra, vice-president of the Federation of Cattle Ranchers of the Lake Basin in Zulia.
Turning milk into cheese gives producers more time to sell it. Cheese still requires sanitary controls, suitable temperatures and proper production practices, but it has a substantially longer commercial life than raw milk left for hours in inadequate conditions. For producers facing a shortened collection window, selling promptly to a cheese-maker can be preferable to risking the loss of a perishable product.
Pasteurised milk requires rapid collection and continuous refrigeration between the farm and the processing plant. Powdered milk lasts longer after processing, but production depends on large industrial facilities, drying equipment, energy and a reliable supply of raw milk. Interruptions to electricity, fuel or transport make those supply chains more difficult to maintain. Livestock representatives in Zulia also reported cases in which milk was discarded because producers could not keep it adequately refrigerated.
Energy shortages add costs even when milk is sold before it spoils. Producers may need to run generators more often, buy additional fuel and accept less choice over their buyers. A short selling window can also weaken their negotiating position. Unagandes identifies Apure, Guárico and Portuguesa in the Llanos, as well as Zulia and lower Táchira and Mérida, among the country’s main dairy areas. These regions depend on roads and energy infrastructure to connect farms with processing facilities.
Escalona estimates that cattle account for about 5m litres of daily output, below the national estimate of 7.5m-7.6m litres. The interview attributes the difference to the growing contribution of buffalo farming, whose milk contains more fat and is valued for some cheese products. The source does not provide a complete split between bovine and buffalo milk. Escalona also cites periods of heavy rain and drought as affecting feed availability and quality. Unagandes says more stable electricity could gradually allow some milk now directed to cheese-makers to return to other processing channels.
