Dear Media Representatives,

2015 will decide the fate of European dairy farmers. With the abolition of the milk quota at the end of March all the indications are that production will rise. Supply already exceeds demand, and milk prices are in free fall throughout Europe. If the milk quotas turn out to be the last limit system, that will inevitably mean the end for many dairy farms.

The European milk producers therefore stress the need for the Market Responsibility Programme (MRP), developed by the European Milk Board and the German Dairy Farmers Association (BDM), to be put into action. This programme creates effective incentives for farmers to adjust their production volumes to the market.

How can our Market Responsibility Programme be implemented? When can the milk market situation be called a crisis, and what incentives will really induce dairy farmers to reduce their production voluntarily? The Executive Committee of the European Milk Board will gladly answer these questions in its press conference at International Green Week in Berlin.

You are invited to the press conference on Thursday, 15 January 2015

at 14:00 hours on the fairgrounds - Hall 6.3, Press Centre Room B

We look forward to seeing you there.

Contacts:

EMB President Romuald Schaber (DE): +49 (0)160 3524703

EMB Vice-President Sieta van Keimpema (EN, NL, DE): +31 (0)6 12168000

EMB Board Member Erwin Schöpges (DE, FR): +32 (0)497 904547

EMB Press Officer Hanna Vauchelle (DE, EN, FR, IT): +32 (0)2 808 1934