“Cost increases in milk production are reaching alarming proportions”, the European Milk Board (EMB) said in a statement published on Wednesday 4 May.
“Even though milk prices have seen a slight upward trend in recent months, these increases do nothing to compensate for the extreme rise in costs due to higher prices for inputs like fertilizers, feed and energy”, says the trade organisation, for whom “price compensation is absolutely necessary”.
To this end, the EMB calls on purchasers and processors to “play their part in dealing with the increased production costs”.
Another necessity is the application of mirror measures (on health and environmental standards) to imported agricultural products so that those that do not meet European standards are not allowed on the EU market. The European Commission will submit a report on this subject in June (see EUROPE 12946/16).
Finally, the EMB calls for the creation of “horizonal producer organisations that negotiate contracts and prices with processors on behalf of farmers throughout the EU”, with “sufficient negotiating power”. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)