With Siderlei de Oliveira

Who bought Parmalat Brasil?

 

Parmalat Brasil was an exception in the global crisis that this transnational corporation suffered in 2004, as it remained generally stable throughout. But its recent purchase by an as-of-yet undisclosed buyer has stirred up the waters again. CONTAC president Siderlei de Oliveira spoke with Sirel about this situation and his expectations for the upcoming IUF Global Dairy Conference.

 

-The company met last week for the first time with the National Committee of Parmalat workers…?

-Yes, because the sale was made public. We still don't know who the buyer is; it could be a transnational corporation from the dairy sector or a food industry company.

 

-We're seeing this kind of process in many countries…

-And in Brazil, after the avian influenza, many poultry companies realized that they had to diversify production so as not to depend on a single segment.

 

For that reason, Perdigão -one of the largest poultry producers in Brazil, which merged with Sadiá last year to form Brasil Foods- purchased Batávia, owner of the Batavo brand, and Eleva Alimentos, whose portfolio includes the Elegê brand.

 

And it's not just Perdigão that's diversifying; there are a lot of large companies in Brazil that see dairy production as a lucrative and growing sector.

 

The trend is towards acquiring companies with well-known brands, and preying on units that are having financial problems.

 

-What happened with Parmalat?

-In Brazil we were able to overcome the crisis that hit the transnational corporation in 2004. We formed a National Committee of Parmalat Workers and met with government authorities -we even met with President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva himself. And our demand was that the company not be sold "in pieces," because that would put our jobs at serious risk.

 

As the IUF knows, I was part of a committee formed by the government of Brazil, which traveled to Italy to discuss the situation of Parmalat. That was how I was able to meet with Enrico Bondi, the general liquidator appointed by the Italian government for Parmalat, and I was the first trade unionist to have that opportunity.

 

-And the Committee did a good job…?

-It did. Thanks to the Brazilian government's mediation and the actions of that Committee, plus the efforts by producers, we were able to maintain all the plants open and prevent any job losses.

 

-This proves that when workers unite and mobilize they can achieve a great deal…

-It was proved once again. When the crisis hit, CUT and Fuerza Sindical members put their historical differences aside to focus on defending the workers' jobs and demands.

 

And not only did we prevent plant closures or job cuts, we secured a national agreement through which we negotiated salaries that were even better than those in sectors not in crisis.

 

-Once again, this shows that trade unions are capable of joining in action when they're in deep water…

-(Laughter) Well, sometimes even when they're not that deep…

 

-Now Parmalat is in a worse situation than in 2004, and we can draw another conclusion: anyone coming from outside the dairy sector and attempting to manage a dairy company as if it were any other industry…

-Goes bankrupt! That's what happened with Laep Investments, who took over Parmalat in July 2009. An entrepreneur who comes into the sector without any knowledge of it, who's only in to make a quick buck, fails.

 

Parmalat was taken over by Laep, which had done a good job in the cleaning sector with BomBril, but it failed in the dairy business.

 

Today Parmalat is a solid brand, without production and without the capacity to meet customer demand. This talk about it being sold is a good thing, but it depends on who's buying... I just hope it's not Nestlé...

 

-Why?

-I don't need to tell you that! (Laughter). It means more concentration of production, less jobs, fewer producers... among other things. Let's hope it's a company that's looking to expand in the sector, and will compete and generate other opportunities that won't be available with Nestlé.

 

-What are your expectations for the IUF Global Dairy Conference?

-I hope to find something different there. And I think this conference will be different. An activity like this is very important, and to be able to learn beforehand through Sirel and the Rel-UITA (IUF Latin America) website about the problems faced by the sector in other countries, and get to know several of the delegates and their take on the sector, is key.

 

Also, I trust ATILRA and its organizing capacity. It'll be a major event and I hope that the dairy sector in the IUF will come out stronger, and that it will achieve a structure like the hotel, tobacco and agricultural workers have.