The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry assured that the Regional Government is strongly committed to the sustainability of the dairy sector on the island of São Jorge, considering that the proposal presented by the CDS/PP party regarding the possibility of converting dairy farms to beef cattle production is the wrong way. 

"The proposal now put forward by CDS/PP is the wrong way as it may jeopardise all the recovery work that has been done on the island of São Jorge in terms of the dairy sector and cooperatives," said João Ponte.

The government official pointed out that São Jorge industries require a production volume in the order of 30 million litres of milk per year. Consequently, a reduction in the production of raw material would certainly compromise the economic viability and the sustainability of the dairy sector on the island of São Jorge, which is not at all desirable. 

"What the Regional Government proposes for the islands of São Miguel, Terceira and Graciosa is based on the demonstration reiterated by industries over time regarding the milk production oversupply," stressed João Ponte. In the case of São Jorge, this situation does not arise, as it has already been conveyed by the board of on more than one occasion. 

According to the Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry, one cannot confuse a momentary and exceptional situation, resulting from the impacts of the pandemic, such as the moment when Uniqueijo asked its producers to reduce milk production in April, with something that is perpetuated in time, as it happens on the islands of São Miguel, Terceira and Graciosa.