Under the circumstances, Agropur will continue purchasing goat’s milk until December 2019 in order to provide stability for producers.
“Agropur and the goat’s milk producers’ association are still working on various options,” said Robert Coallier, CEO of Agropur. “The talks are progressing well but we are not yet certain of the outcome. Under the circumstances, Agropur has decided to postpone the closure of its Saint-Damase plant from April until July 2019 in order to have more time to explore possible solutions. To give farmers some security, we will also continue taking goat’s milk until the end of December.”
“We are very satisfied with the current discussions and Agropur’s offer to continue its goat’s milk purchases until year’s end,” said Christian Dubé, President of Producteurs de lait de chèvre. “This will give us time to continue our discussions and find alternatives if necessary.”
“I welcome the decision to postpone the termination of procurement, which is good news for Quebec’s goat industry. It is clear that both groups are working hard to find a solution,” said Marcel Groleau, President of the Union des producteurs agricoles.
The confidentiality agreement whereby the two parties undertook not to publicly disclose the options under discussion is still in effect. The talks will continue in the coming weeks and an announcement will be made when appropriate.