During the Agricultural Market Task Force meeting with the High Level group on Milk, which took place in Brussels on Friday 16 September, the European Commission noted some "positive signs" on the milk market, even though the crisis is still far from over.
During the meeting, the European Commission pointed out that milk prices had fallen by 37% during the crisis and that the market for milk and milk products had been steadily improving since spring 2016.
Prices for some milk products have now regained their 2014 levels. These "positive signs" have not yet been translated into better farm gate prices (the price paid to producers) but according to the experts, a change is about to take place, explained the Director-General for DG Agriculture at the Commission, Jerzy Plewa.
The Commission said that medium-term prospects for milk and milk products remained "favourable" thanks to both global and domestic demand, which is expected to increase on a regular basis. The director of DG Agriculture said this should provide the EU milk sector with opportunities for developing its production potential and improving its position on the global market.
The Commission highlighted some of the measures taken to help the milk sector and insisted on the need to think about long-term prospects for this "strategically important" sector.
The EU Agricultural Market Task Force will adopt its report at the end of November or beginning of December on ways of enhancing the position of farmers in the food supply chain.
The Slovak Presidency of the Council has pointed out that milk production in the EU is expected to rise by 1% this year. Farm gate prices are expected to fall until at least September this year but certain estimates are more sceptical and expect a rise in producer prices only in the second half of 2017.
The Slovak Presidency also highlights the need to promote a better interconnection between consumers and producers through promoting local and regional product sales. According to the Slovak Presidency, barriers preventing creation of producer organisations should be lifted. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)