Brussels, 11/12/2014 (Agence Europe) - As it had warned, the European Milk Board (EMB) caused a stir, in Brussels on Thursday 11 December, letting loose “a milk lake outside the EU Commission's building”.
Dairy farmers from all over the EU gathered in Brussels to warn the politicians of “a new catastrophe looming in the milk market”. “Unless something is done quickly, Europe's milk producers will go under”, warned EMB President, Romuald Schaber. In many countries, the milk price per kilo is set to drop well below 30 cents in the New Year. Lithuanian farmers are currently being paid no more than 18 or 20 cents. The problem is that supply far outstrips demand. “Without the limiting effect of the quota system in key producing countries like Germany and the Netherlands, the situation would be a lot worse now”, Romuald Schaber explains. When milk quotas come to an end in April 2015, prices could plummet still further. The EMB argues in favour of a 'market responsibility programme': incentives for farmers to adjust the volumes they produce to the market. (LC)