Half of the skimmed milk powder bought into public stock since 2015 (190,000 tonnes out of 380,000 tonnes) has been put back into the market, the European Commission was pleased to announce on Friday 9 November.
Disposal onto the market has been done “without jeopardising the functioning and the recovery of the sector”, the Commission explained. The latest tender sale of 30,000 tonnes took place on 8 November.
In addition, the latest EU price report for the dairy market published by the Milk Market Observatory, shows improvements in prices both for milk and skimmed milk powder, thus reflecting the careful handling of stocks by the Commission. Phil Hogan, EU Commissioner for Agriculture, said: “The benefit of our cautious approach is paying off. Market balance is always our priority. It is encouraging to see an improvement in farm gate milk prices again, helped by the measures the Commission has put in place”. The commissioner called for prudential production decisions to be made in relation to the realities of market conditions.
Public intervention played an important role in stabilising markets between 2015 and 2017, by helping to eliminate production surpluses. End 2016, the Commission launched a process of monthly, followed by bi-monthly, public tenders to gradually put these stocks back onto the market. The next call for tenders will be on 22 November. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)