Fat doesn't help milkers
'Milk is still being produced, isn't it?'
A symbolic action to take measures at a lower milk price. To this end, the European Milk Board (EMB) took action on Thursday 27 October in front of the European Commission (EC) building. The milk price is good and milk is still being produced, but in the background there are growing concerns about the liquidity of European dairy farmers.
"The rate at which the number of crises in our sector is increasing is alarming." Sieta van Keimpema, Silvia Däberitz and Karin Jürgens took the floor. The common thread is that the reserves of many dairy farmers have been exhausted in the last 2 years, in which the milk price has been low to very low.
A fat price that is twice as high
"The high butter price has not yet translated into a milk price, in which the fat price is twice as high," says Van Keimpema in response to the current market. "At the same time, we are seeing the price of butter fall. Eastern Europe was the first region in 2 where milk prices started to fall, followed by other Member States. Now this is the region we need to keep a close eye on."
Due to all the developments in the Netherlands, Germany, the largest producer of milk, is being forgotten. "Milk production there too, after the end of the milk quota, increased considerably. This translated into the production of a large volume of cheap cheese, which did not do the market any good," says Karin Jürgens of the Bureau for Agriculture and Agricultural Sociology (BALL).
Milk reduction was the life jacket
Milk reduction restored the balance, with the German ministry demanding that the supply should not grow until April. Since the summer, however, the size of the milk lake has increased again. "Ultimately, a dairy farmer mainly wants to milk more", says Hans Geurts, dairy farmer and former chairman of the Dutch Dairy Farmers' Union (NMV). Together with Dutch, Spanish, Danish, German, French and Belgian delegates from the EMB, they tried to draw political attention to the building of the EC.
Intervention and producer organizations are not sufficient, according to the representatives. Only when there was less milk did the milk price start to rise. Coincidence or not? The EMB sees this as sufficient proof of where Phil Hogan should look to establish a good safety net for modern dairy farming. However, there is no listening yet. Däberitz illustrates this. Politicians state that milk is still being produced and there is therefore no problem. "On the other hand, in Germany 2 dairy farmers have disappeared in roughly 7.000 years," says Jürgens.
French milk first
France, meanwhile, is taking its own measures; in the form of French milk first. "And then we haven't even mentioned the market disruption caused by Brexit," says Van Keimpema. "There is a common agricultural policy, but due to the steps taken by the different Member States, it is still questionable how common the policy is. However, it is necessary for dairy farmers to come up with 1 plan again."
The European milk supply is above the 2016 figures and the 5-year average.
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Herman van den Pol
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