Draft EU milk regulations do little to protect farmers, groups claim

EUROPEAN Union draft regulations on milk published yesterday do little to protect farmers against unfair retail pricing and future market fluctuations, say Ireland’s main dairy farmer groups.

IFA national dairy committee chairman, Kevin Kiersey, said the draft regulations did little to oblige Europe’s retailers to return a fair margin.

He said the draft regulations, announced by EU Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos to the EU Parliament, will not deliver on proposals from the High Level Group on Milk to give farmers greater retail bargaining power.

The group was created in 2009, the worst year ever experienced by EU milk producers. Farmers had been expecting the new legislation to bring into law measures to protect dairy farmers from any repeat of 2009.

Mr Kiersey said: “The High Level Group referred to the need for transparency in the retail food chain, the need to strengthen the hand of farmers in this imbalanced relationship, and ultimately the need for a fair shareout of the food chain margins.

“However, the recommendations in the draft legislation on contracts and inter-branch organisation are aimed at addressing supply conditions and price negotiations with processors, especially non-coop processors, and at facilitating essentially marketing, innovation and promotion…

“I believe this draft legislation fails to tackle the retail end, and it is ultimately from the retail trade that farmers get a price for their produce.”

Mr Kiersey added that he was concerned at reports of lack of support from the EU Commission’s DG Competition for proposals allowing farmers greater leeway in terms of competition legislation.

Meanwhile, ICMSA president, Jackie Cahill, said the EU proposals for the future of the milk sector in Europe do not contain a single measure to prevent a repeat of the 2009 price collapse.

“I have sought a meeting with the Minister for Agriculture to find out, first hand, about his strategy for negotiation at Farm Council. This matter is absolutely crucial given that Ireland is planning by far the greatest increase in milk output of any of the other member states.

Ultimately, it is our income that will be affected and it is our money that will fund any expansion. We have a right to be informed,” said Mr Cahill.