Demands for freeze on milk quotas likely to be rejected by commission

DEMANDS from France and Germany that milk quotas be frozen or cut are expected to be rejected by the European Commission today.

Reports from Brussels yesterday quoted from a leaked document which stated that quota system changes would not respect the outcome of decisions taken to adapt the Common Agriculture Policy to confront the sector’s needs.

German agriculture minister Ilse Aigner and her French counterpart, Bruno Le Marie, insisted in a letter to Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel that the dairy sector could not be left to depend on the vagaries of the market.

European Union farm ministers agreed last November to lift milk production quotas by 1% per year before scrapping them altogether in 2014-2015.

But in recent months, European farmers including those in Ireland have stepped up protests as dairy product prices collapsed due to low demand caused by the financial and economic crisis.

The commission has agreed to introduce targeted aid to the sector but has refused to go back on its decision to scrap the quota system.

“Putting this policy into doubt would only create uncertainty, delay the restructuring process and render no service to the many dairy producers and their families who need clear guidance as they plan for their future,” according to the leaked document.

The formal demand by France and Germany| is supported by the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association.

It claims the policy of expanding quotas to the point of abolition is the prime de-stabilising factor in the collapse in dairy prices and income.

The ICMSA argues that the EU must match milk supply and demand and introduce proper market supports if a milk price to provide a viable income to dairy farmers is to be achieved.