Isthmus Dairy Farmers Blocked Highway Over Unpaid Milk Deliveries
Farmers from the northern Isthmus set up the blockade near the government collection facilities in San Juan Guichicovi, Oaxaca. The action followed several weeks without settlement for fluid milk supplied to the state-owned company Leche para el Bienestar. The farmers also objected to the removal of dozens of production units from the official supplier register.
According to the organisers, budget reductions had led the receiving centre to cut the daily purchasing allowance for each farm by as much as 50%. The blocked road is part of a major freight route linked to the Interoceanic Corridor. Demonstrators said they would keep the federal highway closed until the outstanding balances were paid in full and normal delivery conditions were restored.
The northern Isthmus dairy basin operates mainly through family farms using a dual-purpose cattle system suited to the humid tropics. Producers combine morning hand milking with calf rearing. The public collection centre in Mogoñé is described as the only local facility with continuous cooling equipment, maintaining milk at 4°C. Ambient temperatures commonly exceed 35°C, leaving farmers little time to preserve raw milk on their properties before it becomes unsuitable for sale.
The quota reductions have left some farms without technical storage for milk beyond the amount accepted by the collection centre. The source reports that communal tanks have consequently become congested and that thousands of litres could be lost when the centre refuses part of the daily output. The affected commercial area includes San Juan Guichicovi, Matías Romero and neighbouring parts of Veracruz.
The institutional guaranteed price had served as a reference for rural incomes in the basin. Farmers unable to deliver their full production to the state system have instead had to sell surplus milk through informal channels at prices reported to be below their operating costs. Their farms generally keep between five and 30 lactating cows, while expenses for mineral supplements, feed and veterinary medicines have increased. Several weeks without receipts have also left producers with unpaid bills to local suppliers and shops.
The farmers are seeking the immediate release of withheld payments, the restoration of the collection system to its full capacity and the return of producers removed from the institutional register. They called for talks with officials from the agriculture ministry and executives of Leche para el Bienestar. The group warned that the road blockade would not end until those demands were addressed and said further closures could follow on other routes in Oaxaca if the dispute remained unresolved.
