European milk producers have organised a “milk powder action” on the sidelines of the Agriculture Council in Brussels for the 23 January to highlight that the crisis affecting the sector is not yet over.
Despite slight price increases, there is still a chronic gap between revenue from milk and the costs of production, says the European Milk Board (EMB) in a press release. The European Commission released almost 22,000 tonnes of skimmed milk powder for sale from public intervention stocks but rejected all the offers submitted, which it said were too low and would threaten the current price recovery (see EUROPE 11698).
Only 40 tonnes of powdered milk were sold in the first call for tenders completed on 20 December. The Commission is, however, continuing to release quantities for sale. The next deadline is 17 January.
The EMB is critical of the return of skimmed milk powder to the market. Copa and Cogeca, the farming and agri co-operatives organisations in the EU, say that the Commission should not be putting these stocks back on the market when the price of milk has been rising for only five months.
According to estimates from 5 January, the price of milk rose by 1.3% in December 2016, following on from rises of 5.7% in November and 7.6% in October. The price of butter rose to €430 per 100 kg (up 45% over 12 months) passing the previous record from 2013. However, the prices of the other dairy products (milk powder, cheddar, emmental), even though they have been increasing since mid-2016, are still well below the record levels of 2013 and 2007.
Copa and Cogeca are calling for the any money that may remain from the plan to assist in reducing milk production be used to distribute free dairy products to those in need as part of the food aid programme, or in schools, in order to provide stronger support to the recovery. If producers fail within three months to reach the reduction targets to which they signed up in return for aid (€150 million available in total across the EU), it is possible that some money may still be available. Copa and Cogeca suggest that public stocks could be used in these initiatives.
The EMB will hold a press conference on the sidelines of Green Week (the major German agricultural trade show) in Berlin on 19 January. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)