EMB Newsletter March 2014
Newsletter as PDF
Contact
European Milk Board
Rue du Commerce 124
B-1000 Brussels
Phone: 0032/2808/1935
Fax: 0032/2808/8265
E-Mail: office@europeanmilkboard.org
Website: http://www.europeanmilkboard.org
Newsletter as PDF
Contact
EMB - European Milk Board asbl
Rue de la Loi 155
B-1040 Bruxelles
Phone: +32 - 2808 - 1935
Fax: +32 - 2808 - 8265
Dear Dairy Farmers and Interested Parties,
We now have Fair Milk in Italy, too. After the success of the project in Austria, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium as well as the successful launch in France last year, Italian consumers have been able to enjoy this high-quality product since 24 February. This means that the milk producers involved finally have the chance to demand their fair share of profit in the milk production chain. This is cause for the milk producers in Italy to celebrate, one I wish to share with all our European friends in the EMB.
This is how it will roll out: at the beginning we will start with about 90,000 litres of UHT milk in the branches of a major supermarket chain in the north Italian regions of Lombardy, Piedmont, Trento Alto Adige, Emilia Romagna and Vento. The plan is to extend the product range to skimmed milk, fresh milk, yoghourt and cheese in a second stage. In Italy, Fair Milk is being supplied by the Fattorie Padane co-operative near Bergamo. Altogether there are 59 farms amalgamated in this co-operative producing roughly 170,000 litres of milk, and all of them are members of the Italian EMB member organisation APL.
Fair Milk is the first project of its kind in Italy. What is unique about it is that it uses a new system of designation of origin based on milk protein markers, which guarantees consumers an unprecedented level of product safety. This innovative system of designation of origin was developed by the University of Milan in collaboration with the APL.
To differentiate it clearly from other dairy products, Italian consumers must be sent a clear message: buy Fair Milk at a fair price and secure the livelihood of non-industrial family farms, the local economy, and with it the future of our country. The target we have set ourselves for 2014 is to sell at least three million litres of milk in various supermarket chains and to start selling yoghourt and cheese.
Fair Milk in Italy must become a success to give other countries in the EMB the courage to initiate their own Fair Milk project. Moreover, we should always bear in mind that the success of Fair Milk not only makes a concrete contribution to the economic survival of the producers on the spot but also boosts the political work of the EMB. Ultimately only this political success can make a difference for milk producers, which is why it is the focus for the EMB and its member organisations. Projects like Fair Milk and the scientific calculation of milk production costs in Europe – the results for France have just been published in February (see press release in this EMB Newsletter) – significantly support this aim.
Roberto Cavaliere (Member of the EMB Board and President of the APL)
Milk Production Costs in France: Large deficit in French dairy sector
The following press release was published on 27 February 2014 on the occasion of the presentation of a study on milk production costs in France at the Paris International Agricultural Show (SIA).
(Paris, 27th February 2014) A new scientific study on milk production in France shows that in 2013, milk production costs in most regions ranged from approximately 40 to 45 cents per kilogramme of milk. The costs are thus significantly higher than the average farm gate milk price of 33,8 cents per kilogramme. As a consequence, dairy farmers in the whole of France had to face important deficits.
Open letter from the OPL in France on the issue of milk producer prices
The French EMB member OPL published the following open letter to the French Minister of Agriculture on 10 February.
Negotiations between the dairy industry and the retail trade are now in full swing and the President of the French retail co-operative System U, Serge Papin, has announced that the negotiated milk price will be around the 32 cents a litre mark.
New study on the situation in the Hungarian dairy sector
The Milk Interbranch Organization and Dairy Board in Hungary has published a study on "The situation of the Hungarian dairy sector in the light of the current disputes and developments with regards to the budget period 2014-2020".
The study results show that, similar to dairy sectors of other member states, Hungarian producers, processors and traders are in an ‘emergency situation’ because they have to make decisions on their existence and development.
Considerable interest at Karow in the International Pooling Commission
The following press release was published on 25 February 2014 on the occasion of the presentation of the alliance supporting the pooling of milk producers at the Dairy Farmers’ Day 2014 in Karow, northern Germany.
(Karow, 25.02.2014) The international alliance for pooling milk producers was presented to German milk producers today at the Dairy Farmers’ Day 2014 in Karow. The alliance was formed in August 2012 with the aim of giving producers international prospects.
Stage play in Belgium: Feeding humankind, that is a job
To make the general public aware of the decline in non-industrial farming, the Belgian theatre group Art & Tça staged the play “Feeding humankind, that is a job” at the National Theater in Brussels. What is special about this play is that it combines elements of a classical play with a documentary film. For it the two leading actors Charles Culot and Valérie Gimenez visited various farming families in Belgium and collected some ten filmic testimonials on the state of non-industrial farming.
EMB Calendar
These are some of the EMB Board’s key dates in March 2014:
05.03.: Board meeting in Brussels
06.03.: EU Commission Advisory Group Milk meeting in Brussels
13.03.: EU Commission Advisory Group on International Aspects of CAP in Brussels
13.03.: Event focusing on the TTIP in Brussels
Full Texts
Milk Production Costs in France: Large deficit in French dairy sector
The following press release was published on 27 February 2014 on the occasion of the presentation of a study on milk production costs in France at the Paris International Agricultural Show (SIA).
(Paris, 27th February 2014) A new scientific study on milk production in France shows that in 2013, milk production costs in most regions ranged from approximately 40 to 45 cents per kilogramme of milk. The costs are thus significantly higher than the average farm gate milk price of 33,8 cents per kilogramme. As a consequence, dairy farmers in the whole of France had to face important deficits.
The above-mentioned study was launched by the European Milk Board (EMB) and the MEG Milch Board w.V. and carried out by the Büro für Agrarsoziologie und Landwirtschaft (BAL). It is based, among others, on the data of the European Commission's Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN).
The deficit situation, as clearly revealed by the study's results, is a source of great concern to the EMB and its French member organisations APLI (Association des Producteurs de Lait Indépendants) and OPL (Organisation des Producteurs de Lait). Romuald Schaber, EMB President, finds clear words for his concern: "Unfortunately, this study clearly depicts the current situation: due to too low milk prices, the French dairy sector looses all future perspectives. Dairy farmers in France would need a price of 45 cents per kilogramme on average." According to Véronique Le Floc'h from the OPL, the chronic deficit gradually disintegrates the French dairy sector: "Every day we see or we hear about colleagues who have to give up production - everywhere, in the whole of France." APLI President André Lefranc adds: "We have to put an end to this languishing. The political leaders have to recognise the data and take measures."
A study on the dairy market in Germany published last year showed that German dairy farmers are facing a similar situation. Deficits are also very common among milk producers in Germany. As a consequence, the number of dairy farms is dropping continuously, which might cause milk production to disappear entirely in some regions.
It is foreseen that similar studies on milk production costs will also be carried out in other European countries. "These studies will most probably show as well that there is a big gap between the cost of production and farm gate milk prices", states Romuald Schaber.
"In the dairy sector in Europe, the question is not anymore whether there is a chronic deficit or not, but how large the deficit is and when the majority of dairy farms will have disappeared", Schaber adds. The installation of a monitoring agency could stop this negative trend. Thanks to such a body, supply would be adapted to demand, thus allowing cost-covering prices. "If the EU does not want to jeopardise and lose the last remaining dairy farms, it has to take action. The setting up of a monitoring agency in the near future would be the right way to go", emphasises Schaber.
The study in production costs in France is available online at the following address:
http://www.europeanmilkboard.org/en/milk-production-costs.html.
Christian Schnier (EMB)