A milestone for the milling industry: Paraguay will host the ALIM 2024 Congress

Asunción, IP Agency.- In a recent interview on the Paraguay TV program Tribuna, Enrique Arrúa, vice president of the Paraguayan Chamber of Millers, enthusiastically announced the celebration of the Latin American Assembly of Miller Industrialists (ALIM) 2024, a key event for the milling sector that will take place in Asunción at the end of this month. Arrúa thanked the invitation and was optimistic about the challenge of organizing a congress of such magnitude in the country.

«It really is quite a big challenge for us. The first and only time that the ALIM Congress was held in Paraguay was in 1996,” said Arrúa, pointing out that since then the event has been annual and has been held in various countries in the region. “Last year it took place in Córdoba, Argentina, and the year before in Lima, Peru, where we presented our candidacy,” he explained.

The vice president of the Chamber highlighted the support of the National Secretariat of Tourism (Senatur) in promoting Paraguay as an attractive destination for international events. “It was really exciting to receive support from Senatur to position our country as a place for events,” he said. Paraguay’s candidacy was unanimously approved to host the congress in 2024.

In terms of the milling industry, Arrúa indicated that “Paraguay is recognized as an agro-exporting country” and that the goal of the Paraguayan Chamber of Millers is to “transform us into an agro-industrial exporting country.” He spoke about wheat production, stating that “the country produces approximately twice the wheat it consumes,” with 50% of that production being processed into flour.

Enrique Arrúa, vice president of the Paraguayan Chamber of Millmen.

A record wheat harvest is anticipated this year, with projections of reaching 1.4 million tons. “We hope that this year will be one of the most productive in terms of the wheat harvest,” commented Arrúa, who also stressed the importance of industrializing the other 50% of unused production. “We are on track to obtain a historic harvest record, which will be processed locally into flour,” he added.

Regarding export opportunities, Arrúa mentioned that “Brazil is a large consumer,” but markets are also being evaluated in Chile, which ranks second in bread consumption worldwide. “Just as Chile imports meat, it could become an interesting market for our flour,” he explained, highlighting the geographical proximity and business potential.

Arrúa concluded by emphasizing that “the milling sector has remained silent, without making much noise, due to its traditional nature,” but that the next edition of the ALIM congress represents an excellent opportunity to highlight the capabilities and potential of the milling industry. in Paraguay.