Brussels, 01/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - According to new figures announced by the European Milk Board (EMB) on Tuesday 1 December, the price of milk in Germany covers only 66% of costs.
The figures for July reveal a decline in the viability of German farms. The updated study by BAL (Büro für Agrarsoziologie & Landwirtschaft - the German Office for Agriculture and Agricultural Sociology) reveals that, in Germany, the milk price of 29.42 cents was far from covering the average cost of production of 44.79 cents. “This imbalance in the milk sector and its dramatic consequences for producers and rural development is not only a German problem”, EMB states. In Lithuania for instance, producer prices are between 10 and 19 cents a litre. In Belgium farmers only get 25 cents for a litre of milk and in Denmark 29 cents. The EMB once again attacks Commissioner Phil Hogan. The reason behind these price drops, according to the EMB, is that, since April, production in many European countries has increased significantly. In Ireland, for example, between April and August 2015 production increased by more than 12% compared to the same period last year. In Germany, the Netherlands and Poland, too, production volumes rose by more than 7%, 2.5% and 3.3% respectively. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)