May 28, 2008

EU dairy farmers on strike over low milk prices
   
  

Dairy farmers in EU member states Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, France and Luxemburg have launched a strike campaign to boost the income of dairy farmers due to low milk prices.

The EU plans to increase output quotas and to force down market milk prices in the EU, which Brussels said is a response to growing global demand for milk, especially from booming Asian countries.

The move has ignited an angry response from dairy farmers, who organised a Europe-wide strike campaign that started on Tuesday (May 27, 2008) to protest against the decision.

German dairy farmers refused to supply milk to dairy factories unless they are offered a higher price for their produce while Dutch dairy farmers demonstrated outside the Friesland Foods factory for higher milk prices.

German milk producers are paid EUR 0.27-0.35 per litre of milk while Dutch milk producers are paid EUR 0.30-0.34 per litre.

The Dutch Dairymen Board said it costs EUR 0.47 to produce a litre of milk and that consumers are unaware that the lower milk prices in supermarkets are passed on to farmers in the form of lower prices for their milk.

The average Dutch dairy farm earns EUR 84,000 last year due to rising global demand for dairy products, leading to price increase, according to agriculture economic institute Lei, which added that costs have also risen as much as milk prices, which levels off profits.

Romuald Schaber, leader of the German Federal Dairy Farmers Association (BDM), said the group expects the boycott to last between 7-10 days.

Schaber said 80 percent of farmers are participating in the strike in some regions and unsold milk is either fed to calves or dumped in farm-waste tanks.

The EU has planned to dispose of the quota in 2015, allowing farmers to sell as much milk as they want.

US$1 = EUR 0.63 (May 28, 2008)