31.05.2012

Swedish Milk Producers take to the streets

 

The Swedish member organisation of the EMB Sveriges Mjölkbönder organised a demonstration of milk producers in Stockholm on the occasion of the World Milk Day on 1 June 2012. Committed milk producers from Sweden and other European countries had come to Stockholm to support the fight against the difficult situation in the Swedish milk market and give it a face in the public.

The demonstration started in the morning at 10am with a march in the city centre of Stockholm culminating in a speech by Stefan Gård, president of Sveriges Mjölkbönder’s, as well as a panel discussion with Swedish politicians.

Sieta van Keimpema, Vice-President of the EMB, emphasized the wider European perspective of the demonstration and expressed the unconditional support of milk producers from all over Europe for their Swedish colleagues. From the EMB Board Erwin Schöpges from Belgium and Erna Feldhofer from Austria had also travelled to Stockholm to support the Swedish cause.

During the afternoon, different activities contributed to a greater public visibility with the citizens of Stockholm and brought the demonstration to a successful conclusion. For instance, there took place every hour an interview with a milk producer under the motto “Ask your dairy farmer” about his personal economic situation to make the problems in the dairy market more feasible for the general public.