Colombia's Analac Calls for Labels Identifying Imported Milk
Analac's proposal focuses on product labelling rather than a general ban on imports. The association says consumers should be able to distinguish between dairy goods made with Colombian milk, imported raw material or a combination of both. Its executive president, Daniela España, said the discussion should move from customs data to the information shown on the label.
Data from Colombia's tax and customs authority, DIAN, and calculations by Analac show that the country imported 61,299 tonnes of milk and dairy products between January and July 2026. That was 59.8% more than in the same period of 2025. Powdered milk accounted for 49,572 tonnes, an increase of 76.7% year on year and about 81% of the total volume recorded by the association.
Analac noted that powdered milk can be used in several industrial applications. It may be reconstituted as liquid milk, but it can also enter different formulations and manufacturing processes. The association therefore said import volumes alone do not establish how much imported material reaches any particular product or whether it replaces Colombian milk.
Formal purchases of domestic milk were broadly unchanged over the same period. Colombian processors acquired 2.019 billion litres through the formal collection system in the first seven months of 2026, compared with 2.025 billion litres a year earlier, a decline of 0.3%. The measure covers milk purchased and officially reported by industry; it does not represent all milk produced in the country.
Regional conditions differed. Analac reported that formal milk collection in the Caribbean region fell by about 11% amid adverse weather conditions. The association said the figure should be assessed alongside inventories, consumption, regional output and companies' purchasing patterns. It also listed several possible reasons for higher imports, including temporary supply needs, commercial conditions and the use of specific ingredients, without attributing the increase to one of them.
The United States supplied 29,675 tonnes, or 48.4% of the milk and dairy products included in Analac's figures, making it the largest source. Chile followed with 9,841 tonnes, or 16.1%. France and Bolivia each represented 5.3%, Portugal 4.5% and Argentina 4%. Other countries together accounted for 16.5%. These shares cover the full group of products studied by Analac and do not describe the origin breakdown for powdered milk alone.
The association said that identifying where a product was processed is not necessarily the same as identifying the origin of its ingredients. A milk product, cheese or yoghurt can be manufactured in Colombia using imported inputs in some proportion. Analac said clearer information would allow consumers who wish to favour national milk to make that choice. The organisation also said that establishing whether imports displace domestic milk would require analysis of production, collection, stocks, consumption, processing capacity and the actual use of imported goods.
